Monday, June 23

That bird pump band have recorded an EP...

An Experiment On A Bird In The Air Pump have just finished recording their debut release with Robert Harder, who has releases by The Slits, Theoretical Girl, and Talking Heads under his producing belt. The new EP tracks will be unveiled soon. For now, we have an exclusive slice of information: plans are coming together for a collaborative track 'Violets of Dawn' between the Birds and 'a very tall frontman in a well known band'. Draw your own conclusions...

Thursday, June 19

Hatcham Social free track & update;

Stirrings from the Island of Doctor Moreau, where Hatcham Social are reputedly preparing to record their debut album. An official announcement is imminent, but we hear that recording will start within the month, with Tim Burgess of The Charlatans producing, and that there'll be a new single announcement soon.

A taste of things to come is offered in the form of the new track 'Superman', available now as a free download from the A Clearing In The Woods forum. A synth line (a Hatcham first as far as we know) lends it a certain shoegazing air, but it's still got the barrel of delicate pop melodies and fitful rhythm section from earlier singles, and it's definitely worth the trouble of signing up to the forum. Also on offer are early ticket releases, more free downloads, and frequent updates on the band's activity, so sign up now and brighten up your day.

Wednesday, June 18

O CHILDREN/S.C.U.M at Puregroove ./

Two hyped new bands combine to record a split EP for the newly-opened Puregroove shop in Smithfield. Both present their debuts to public scrutiny, and play a free instore on the 13th June with The New Thing in attendance. Our thoughts.

O Children are at the centre of a punctuation crisis - O.Children? O-Children? Who knows? Who cares? - but that hasn't stopped them from attracting a fair amount of attention since their first shows in March, including a place in big letters on the poster for Offset Festival in August (this time as O'Children). The Puregroove EP and appearance proves that sometimes you should believe the hype: an indie Goliath of a singer switches vocally between Elvis Presley and Ian Curtis at the drop of a mic stand, and a ragtag trio of musicians combine melody with aggression to post-punk perfection. Their EP track 'Ace Breasts' is rock 'n' roll gone wrong in the best possible way, with unsettling treble guitar lines and voyeuristic lyrics from that voice contributing to a tour de force of eerie indie.

It's a worthy debut, backed up by an even better live performance: those who've heard the band's MySpace demos are urged to catch them live, since their sound opens right out on the live stage - they exude a vivid energy and a great stage presence even in a striplit record shop at twenty to seven in the evening. There were tears wept over the split of Bono Must Die, but if this is what its disparate members have come up with next then we're happy.

S.C.U.M should be familiar to many after being tipped as 'ones to watch' by NME at least three times in the past few months, and the growing attendance as their Puregroove stage time approaches is a testament to that exposure. Their EP track is called 'Smile', so it might be seen as a kind of antidote to Lily Allen: a lurching three-time bass rhythm catapults the listener into the band's own personal aural hell, with gunshot drumbeats and cold vocals echoing from side to side.

The band play up their visual style onstage so the absence of their normal strobe setup leaves them looking a little naked at Puregroove, but the spaces are thoroughly filled with electronic noise and the gyrations of the group's stalking frontman Tom, who provides the obligatory set-climbing photo opportunity on the shop's fragile-looking shelves. It's an unusual S.C.U.M set then - they don't even wreck the drum kit - but, with a growing instrumental unity and some excellent new material, it's both satisfying for now and indicative of greater things to come.

The split EP is available from Puregroove in Smithfield now on CD, and comes highly recommended. Play it loud and frequently.

Sunday, June 15

EIOH single - final details:::

'We Thought It Was But It Wasn't' / 'After Many A Summer Dies The Swan'
500 LTD 7" singles
Released on Too Pure/WAKs
23rd June 2008
(PURE 218s)


Launch party: 29th June - details tbc.

'We Thought It Was But It Wasn't': another disjointed uneasy Electricity In Our Homes post-punk pop-song. One point five minutes no punches pulled: scratched Bunnyman/Fire Engine guitar enters ear ricochets round skull strikes sparks off cracked crazed vocals to the accompaniment of steam powered rhythm pieces slowly deconstructing stop start stop start stop start. Buy it.

Tuesday, June 10

KOMAKINO/ULTERIOR SINGLES

Two individual pieces of single news;

1// Project:KOMAKINO's first single, 'Penumbra 1', will be released on 1st October on April77 Records, but for those not wishing to wait it can be heard now at their MySpace. It's certainly an improvement on Kris Kane's solo demo version, with the added band members each making their contributions and a new vocal style which develops the former Ian Curtis-style gloom into something less murky and more distinct. The group's next release is the Project:KOMAKINO EP on 28th June, which we strongly recommend you buy.

2// Ulterior's '15' single now has a confirmed release date of 16th June - that is, the coming Monday. The follow-up to 'Weapons' is another essential buy - it's on DiscError, and available at any decent record shop.

Monday, June 9

KASMs 'Taxidermy' - further details //

You should probably know that KASMs' first 7" single 'Taxidermy' will now be released on 21st July, and that, further to our previous news on the topic, the b-side will feature not only 'Siren Sister' but also 'Elevator': a bumper package for all shriekbeat connoisseurs.

Saturday, June 7

Horrors album::UPDATE

Having finished preliminary songwriting sessions for their second album, The Horrors are set to relocate to Bristol to start recording in two weeks. Whether this turns the album into a trip-hop soundscape will be revealed in the winter, when the album is released: a date of January has now been suggested, another delay justified by the need not to rush, and a world tour is due to follow.

Monday, June 2

Neils Children:: REFLECTIVE/SURFACE & EXPOSURE

Both sides of Neils Children's next single are now available to stream from their MySpace. 'Reflective/Surface' is an angular stop-and-start affair which disguises a dark lyrical face behind its upbeat Josef K-style guitars, with the band's psychedelic roots still apparent in its shimmering instrumental break. 'Exposure' is more downbeat, its background vocal harmonies and eerie sound effects showing a continuation of the band's movement into new territories. The AA-side single is now available on April77 records - download it from April77records.com this month with a code available on April77 clothing, or buy it from a record store near you. Neils Children play Dice Club this Saturday.