Recommended music: 'Collector' by Disq

Hailing from Madison, Wisconsin, new 5-piece guitar band Disq inhabit the same sort of spaces as Bodega, Fountains of Wayne and Weezer amongst others. There's some great melodies in here, along with some decently (or indecently) fuzzed guitars, some acoustic track, and even a bona fide pop song on 'Loneliness'.


Parts of some of these songs also remind me of the band XTC, in the way they're constructed and the rhythms they use, like for example on 'Fun Song 4', and there are also hints of Ben Folds on 'Gentle'.


 All of these influences combine in a record that sounds joyous and full of energy, as if it's designed to lift the spirits and propel you forward, while at the same time looking back through the nest bits of your record collection.

Like every other band Disq have had to cancel their forthcoming tours, so once you've listened to the full album below why not by a digital or physical copy from them? You know it;s the right thing to do.

Track of the Day: 'War Is Coming (If You Want It)' by Car Seat Headrest

"This is a song about not murdering people"

It's great to have a new Car Seat Headrest track to listen to, especially one as pertinent to our times as this one.Will Toledo's lyrics are bang on - "Last night I dreamed you'd murdered some kids" he sings, "If it has been on TV I would've changed the channel".

The world needs more songs like this and more bands like Car Seat Headrest, and less fuckwits like Donald Trump and Theresa May. That's just my opinion of course, but you and I both know it's true.

Listen and buy the track below.

Video of the Day: 'Let's Pray' by Blaenavon

As the moment for indie-pop stardom for Blaenavon gets ever closer, they've deferred their University places and focussed on completing their debut album for Transgressive records. From it comes this slice of jangly guitar angst, with its plaintive cry 'Let's pray for death' and accompanying revenge-flick video.

Glastonbury 2016 - The Ones To Watch - T-21 Days: Ezra Furman

With last year's album 'Perpetual Motion People' Furman produced a record full of wit, warmth and energy while mixing musical styles from 60s do-wop to garage rock and beyond.

In the flesh he's even more energetic, an unpredictable force teetering on the brink of anarchy but just about managing to rein it in.

So let your hair down and join the perpetual party with Ezra and his band.

Recommended music: 'Curve of the Earth' by Mystery Jets

I must admit that I was ready to write off Mystery Jets as a spent force. A few minor hits a few years ago, then doomed forever to play mid-afternoon festival slots and gradually decreasing venues. Boy was I wrong! This is their magnum opus and one which should put to bed any notions of them being a trivial, lightweight band.

Not wishing to pigeonhole the music, I won't use words like 'psychedelia', 'prog', or even 'adult rock'. Suffice to say that this is a mature, polished, classic sounding record, whatever genre you think if fits. The band have talked of feeling like 'a gang again', like when they first formed, and the music certainly feels like it's been made by a group that are fully aware of and comfortable with each other. You feel that any of the tracks could go off into an improvisation and however loose it got they'd never lose control.



There's a depth and breadth to these tunes that really fits the expansiveness of the album's title. Take 'Midnight's Mirror', one of the stand-out tracks for me, which over the course of 6 minutes fits a couple of different choruses, a bridge, some twinkling acoustic guitar and some jangly electric, a synth bass and all sorts of drum rhythms into a song that could go on twice as long and I still wouldn't be bored with it. It's followed immediately by '1985', which isn't a prologue to anything Taylor Swift might have written, but is instead a piano-led ballad about the planets aligning with human emotions that explodes halfway through with a Coldplay-esque (in a good way) guitar riff. Meanwhile the next track 'Blood Red Balloon' has a vocal not dissimilar to 'Echoes' by Pink Floyd, a guitar riff that reminds me of Genesis, and all sorts of other stuff going on.

Although I've listened to this album loads of times since it came out a couple of weeks ago I get the feeling that it's still got a lot more to give and that I won't be removing it from my headphones any time soon. An essential purchase.

Track of the Day: 'Passive Passive' by Hot Cops

This new track from the best new band from Belfast manages to be interesting while sounding disinterested - a clever trick of you can manage it. Mora than a bit reminiscent of 'Nancy Boy' by Placebo, it has a casual swagger that fits nicely with the slightly shonky guitar solo in the middle. The single is out next month on Paper Trail Records, and they're definitely a band to watch out for in 2016.

Track of the Day: 'Hell Is My Head' by Blaenavon

It's hard to believe that it's coming up for 3 years since I first wrote about Blaenavon and tipped them for success. They've obviously been tucked away in the Transgressive bunker being fed red meat, as they've emerged with a beefier sound on this lead track from their new 'Miss World' EP.

Powerful guitars and crisp, clear vocals take their place over a powerhouse of drumming to create a melodic barrage of sound. This really is the sound of them emerging from their adolescent cocoons and turning into young men with a purposeful stride.



You can pre-order the EP from Transgressive here.

Live review & pictures: Visions Festival, London 8th August 2015

The sun always seems to shine on East London for Visions Festival, and so it was yesterday for the third edition of this annual event. This is a blessing in disguise as although it makes for pleasant strolls between the venues, it makes the venues themselves incredibly hot (especially the Brewhouse which was so hot and humid that it managed to turn the bar of chocolate in my bag from a solid to liquid state in about 30 minutes).

Oscar at The Laundry 8/8/15

First on my agenda was Oscar at The Laundry. This was an upbeat way to start the day - Oscar Scheller has a deep, rich voice and some great, melodic hooks to go with it. I was surprised at the quality of his songwriting and although it might be hard to pigeonhole him into a genre or market I hope he makes it.

Girl Band on stage at The Laundry

Next at the same venue were one of the current buzz acts, Girl Band. This four-piece from Dublin are loud and intense and definitely bring something fresh to the scene. It's hard to make out what he's singing but that's never been a barrier to success in the past and they definitely seem to be the sort of band they will inspire a rabid following.

Loyle Carner on stage at The Brewhouse 8/8/15

Just over the road from The Laundry is the aforementioned boiling hot Brewhouse, where the heat was matched with the talent. Loyle Carner is the future of British hip-hop. He writes brilliantly aware, emotional and heartfelt lyrics, and is a great performer to match. As well as his raps he did 3 poems which were well received, especially the one about his mum who was in the front of the audience. If you get a chance to see him then grab it, you won't be disappointed.

Torn Hawk

Next in the Brewhouse (after one of their excellent homemade pizzas) was Torn Hawk, who matches video images with experimental music. I couldn't see all of his performance though as I had to head down to The Oval Space to see one of my picks of the day, Son Lux.

Son Lux on stage at The Oval Space 8/8/15

I've loved this band for a while so it was great to get the chance to see Ryan and the boys live. They played mostly tracks from the latest but with a couple of older ones for good measure. It was a really powerful performance, Ryan definitely puts his heart and soul into the performance and his emotion was matched with a rapturous reception.

Ryan Lott (Son Lux) 8/8/15

Next it was time for a double bill back at the Brewhouse. Norfolk's finest Luke Abbott twiddled his modular knobs to perfection, building up to an electronic crescendo.

Luke Abbott

He was followed by California's Peaking Lights, who played a set of electro-pop-dub with some thunderous bass lines that got everyone dancing (including one or two of the guys from Merchandise who'd played The Laundry earlier.

Aaron Coyes (Peaking Lights) 8/8/15

Finally it was back up the road to The Oval Space for Holy Fuck, Having been away for some 5 years they treated us to a shitload of new tunes and their performance got better and better as they went on. No photos for this one as they were on a darkly-lit stage (and I was too busy dancing anyway).

Overall it was another great day, although I have a couple of (connected) gripes. St. John's Church in Hackney is a pretty long way from The Oval space, and led to people basically deciding whether to stay in Hackney or Bethnal Green for the evening as it wasn't feasible to move between the two. Also the organisers seemed to be trying to brand it as a 'Hackney' festival, no doubt for the hipster value, but most of the venues were still in Bethnal Green. So let's have the venues a bit closer together or if not, maybe a shuttle bus between the two?

Video of the Day: 'Misty Maker Stomp' by Jouis

This track found its way onto my radar via the excellent new service from Flying Vinyl. For your monthly subscription they'll send you a box of 5 singles, all new music from emerging artists.

This excellently trippy number is reminiscent of '60s Pink Floyd and other psych nuggets from that era. Meanwhile the animated video reminds me a bit of some of the cartons created for Floyd's 'The Wall', especially the way the plants grow.Take a look and see what you think of it.

Jouis - Misty Maker Stomp (Official Video) from Lucky Bozu on Vimeo.

Recommended music: 'Kite Without A String' by Beach Moon/Peach Moon

Another release from the bijou Paper Trail records, this hazy, gently lo-fi record will slowly drift into your consciousness. Full of warmth and tinkling melodies, it's an album that never outstays its welcome but makes the most of the time it has with you.

Starting life as a solo vehicle for Robert Prisco from San Francisco (I love how that rhymes), but since expanded to a full band, at its heart Beach Moon/Peach Moon revolves around Prisco's high, softly-sung vocals. Like Mercury Rev's Jonathan Donahue but with less angst, he subtly swoops through the tunes, using his voice as an integral instrument within the overall set-up. Meanwhile the lyrics are full of missed opportunities and stolen moments that fit well with Prisco's world-weary delivery. "Thoughts are fleeting, seething through my barren bones" he sings on The Fog, one of many references to the natural world and our environment. On 'Firefly Stars' he tells us how "She filled my sky a deep dark indigo, That's how I saw how bright the moon was", before moving on to the end of the relationship on the title track: "I'm not mad at you, I'm just sad at us".

Overall then it's a wistful but not downbeat album, full of touching moments and hidden pleasures. Well worth a listen.

Track of the Day: 'Atheist Money' by Adam Stafford

Although we've got to wait until October for Stafford's new album 'Taser Revolutions', the lovely people at So, by Toad Records have seen fit to bestow this taster track upon us. I loved the last album 'Imaginary Walls Collapse', and this sounds like it heralds another great record.

The deceptively gentle start is soon rudely interrupted by some abrasive electronic rhythms. As first Stafford's guitars and then his vocals come in the song starts to build to something rather epic. Melodies and harmonies soar, like Coldplay or U2 when they still had all the tunes but none of the pretension. This man knows how to write a tune, that's for sure, and if he keeps putting out belters like this he'll deserve the chance to play them on festival stages in the early evening sun.

Grab yourself a free download below.

Track of the Day: 'Young' by Kins

The lead track from the new Kins EP 'Cyclical', this brilliant track has a pounding, hypnotic rhythm driven by crisply effected drums. Over the top come squalling, distorted guitars which suddenly give way to reveal the clear, crisp vocals of the lead singer. With a touch of Wild Beasts about him, he swoops and soars above the progressively wilder backing. It's the most amazingly unhinged thing I've heard all week, and I love it.

The EP is out at the start of July but you can grab this track for free now, just follow the download link below.

Video of the Day: 'Shake and Tremble' by Django Django

With their appearance at the mighty Field Day just over a week away the Djangos have released this video for the latest single from 'Born Under Saturn'.



The band play in some sort of nightmarish rain forest, populated by carnivorous plants, insects and goodness know what else. I must admit to being surprised that they all made it out alive as I was expecting at least one of them to be swallowed up by whatever was lurking in the forest!

Things that remind me of other things #3: 'Dead Fox' by Courtney Barnett and 'Rock'n'Roll' by The Velvet Underground

Another in this occasional series of tracks that sound like each other. Here's the video for 'Dead Fox' by Courtney Barnett.



Get past the introduction and after about 12 seconds the main part of the song starts. Listen to that, not only the chord structure but the vocal line and delivery, and then give The Velvet Underground a spin.



Pretty similar huh? Both great songs, about 45 years apart.

Live review and pictures: Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Silicon and Moon King, Islington Assembly Hall, London 21st May 2015

A brilliant evening at the Islington Assembly Hall kicked off with Toronto band Moon King. Lead singer and driving force Daniel has a great voice and is a powerful frontman. At times they rocked out pretty hard and at others they mellowed out a bit, but overall they had a lot of energy, and anyone who claims that their 2 favourite songs are 'Halcyon and On and On' by Orbital and 'Harvest Moon' by Neil Young is alright by me.

Moon King live at Islington Assembly Hall, London

Next up was Silicon. Fronted by Ruban UMO's brother Kody, this was a performance and a half that enthralled and mystified the audience in equal measure. After spending the first song onstage Kody very quickly jumped into the audience and spent most of his set there. Dancing, prowling, posing, walking along the edge of the balcony and even stroking some hipster beards, he packed his set full of spiky energy. He even performed a cover of UMO's 'Can't Keep Checking My Phone' while Ruban watched and sang along from the side.Personally I loved it and I'll be watching out for them next time they're on town.

Silicon on stage at Islington Assembly Hall

And so to headliners Unknown Mortal Orchestra. From Ruban Neilson's solo project UMO have evolved into one of the tightest and together live bands I've seen for a while. Ruban is a brilliant guitarist and a thoroughly engaging frontman and together with the rest of the band he plays a brand of soulful and funky indie music that doesn't really exist anywhere else.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra live at Islington Assembly Hall, London 21/5/15

New and old songs mixed together well and were given the chance to breathe, expanding through some great flourishes and solos. No need to pick out highlights as the whole set was one big smile on my face from beginning to end. I can only imagine how great this stuff is going to sound on sunsetting stages through the festival season.

Ruban Nielson, Unknown Mortal Orchestra live 21/5/15

Unknown Mortal Orchestra are back in the UK in October for another tour and you really should go and see them, because they're ace.

Recommended music: 'Multi-Love' by Unknown Mortal Orchestra

The third album from Ruban Nielson may well just be the summer soundtrack you've been looking for. From the opening bars of the now somewhat notorious title track you can tell that you're in for a full on blast of shimmering grooves and good vibes. There's been a lot of salacious talk about the subject matter - Ruban & his wife both fell in love with the same girl, she moved in but then the whole thing sort of fell apart - but to focus on that is is to do the rest of the album a disservice. As Ruban has said "there are more references to holograms than polyamory" on the record, so my advice is just to accept the song for what it is, don't judge the story or the storyteller, and move on.

If you do you'll get to the brief blast of power pop that is 'Like Acid Rain' and then the funkier, almost Prince-like rhythms of 'UR Life One Night'. Most recent single 'Can't Keep Checking My Phone', a disco-driven beast of a tune with a brilliantly catchy chorus. It's followed by 'Extreme Wealth and Casual Cruelty' which feels like the most downbeat song on the album, although it has an unexpected and soulful saxophone solo in the middle that really brings the song alive. A minute before the end it steps up a gear with a dramatic instrumental passage, which then gives way to 'The World Is Crowded - a super smooth groove that's made for relaxing by the pool on your holidays.

As we move towards the end of the record 'Stage or Screen' probably sounds most like older UMO tracks, full of phase and a bit more lo-fi, while 'Necessary Evil' is a darker, moodier slice of funk with some great guitar pieces.

Album closer 'Puzzles' is an epic track that somehow manages to meld The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and George Clinton into seven minutes of epicness.

I can't really think of anyone else treading the same path as UMO right now; their brand of soulful, funky indie really is in a class of its own. I'm pretty sure this'll end up in the end of year 'best of' lists from many people, especially me.

'Multi-Love' is out on May 25th on Jagjaguwar Records.

Recommended music: 'Ripe 4 Luv' by Young Guv

I hadn't heard of this record until the postman delivered it on Wednesday. It was my first selection from vinyl subscription service Wax and Stamp, and a damn fine selection it is too. If everything they send through is as good and as unusual as this we're going to get along just fine.

Some background on Ben Cook - he's the guitarist on hardcore band Fucked Up. But his punk credentials haven't stopped him ghostwriting pop hits for the likes of Taylor Swift, Maroon 5 and Kelly Clarkson.

It's retro styling mines a different vein to the standard electronic dance/pop references. Opener 'Crushing Sensation' sounds a lot like Split Enz (ask your dad) while title track 'Ripe 4 Luv' has got hints of 'My Best Friend's Girl' by The Cars (ask your uncle). 'Aquarian' meanwhile steps up the soul quotient as he hits the drum machine and shuffles his way across the dancefloor. When 'Kelly, I'm Not A Creep' jangles into life you think it's going to be a lost Byrds classic before turning into more of a lost indie guitar anthem that blends The Lemonheads and Teenage Fanclub into a melodic milkshake. 'Living The Dream' really sounds like he is, driving down the hiway in Los Angeles as the sunsets. It's hard to be certain whether closer 'Wrong Crowd' oversteps the boundary between affection tribute and kitsch, especially when the sax kicks in, but if you can forgive him the slight excess it's a great, upbeat way to end the album.

It kind of reminds me of Dev Hynes (Blood Orange) in the way he can turn his hand to any genre and make a really good job of it. It's all disarmingly casual and slightly lo-fi, but hidden within it are a set of fantastic tunes. It's a beach barbecue blow-out kind of album that demands some hot sun and cold beer to help it take its place in your affections.

'Ripe 4 Luv' is out now on Slumberland Records, and if you get the vinyl it comes in a lovely shade of blue.

Record Store Day 2015

After four or five years of heading up to Rough Trade in London I decided to keep it local for Record Store Day (that's kind of the point after all) and so I headed to South in Southend.

The queue at South, 7am this morning

The benefits of this decision were immediately apparent when a) I got an extra hour in bed and b) I was 4th in the queue when I arrived. The usual queue banter took place (seems record collectors are pretty much decent folk wherever you go) while we waited for the store to open, which happened at bang on 8 o'clock. Now, South isn't the largest shop in the world, which brings me to my only gripe of the day - once the doors were opened everyone poured in, leading to a bit of a scrum around the albums and making it impossible for me to get to the 7" singles once I'd finished at the 12"s. So maybe next year they could manage the volume of people in the shop a bit more - that's one thing that Rough Trade has managed to get right over the years.

My 2015 Record Store Day haul

Anyway, moan over. Aside for the Johnny Marr 7" that had gone by the time I reached the counter I got pretty much everything that was on my list, with a free book thrown in too. Here's the run down, listed in roughly the order in which I targeted them.

• Run The Jewels - Bust No Moves; clear 12"
• Jon Hopkins - I Remember (Nils Frahm remix); white vinyl 10"
• Hot Chip - Atomic Bomb (John Talabot remix); 12"
• Sinkane / The Charlatans - Emile; yellow vinyl 7"
• Serge Gainsbourg - Serge Gainsbourg et Le Cinema; 
• Foo Fighters - Songs From The Laundry Room; 10"
• Kode9 & The Spaceape - Ghost Town; gold vinyl 7"
• Courtney Barnett - Kim's Caravan; 12"
• Jay Z / Ghostface Killah - U Don't Know / Whip You With A Strap; 7"
• Gram Parsons / The Lemonheads - Brass Buttons; pink vinyl 7"
• Warpaint / Daughter - Feeling Alright / Winter; 12"
• Toy & Jane Weaver - Fell From The Sun 7"
• Free book: Strange Requests and Comic Tales from Record Shops by Graham Jones

Update: On the Monday after Record Store Day I went across to Rough Trade and picked up a couple more things, namely:

• Metronomy - Boy Racers; Ferrari Red 12"
• St Paul & The Broken Bones - Sing A Simple Song; Albama-shaped burgundy vinyl

Austerity Audio 2015.3

The third instalment of Austerity Audio for 2015 is finally here! What more could you want at Easter than 10 prime slices of new music (apart from a vomit-inducing quantity of chocolate eggs)?

As usual, all of the tracks are available for free and legal download from the internet (you might have to rummage around for some of them, but that's part of the fun). If you find something that you really like then all we ask is that in return for this lovely free mixtape you buy a track or two from one of the artists involved. That way they make a crust and can keep producing lovely music for us all. To download the mixtape just right click on the image above and 'save as', or left click on it to listen to it first. Here's the tracklisting:

1. Fluida - Deep Down (Dub)
2. Tame Impala - Let It Happen
3. Roger Sellers - Waves (Corduroi Remix)
4. Ratking - (Steep Tech (Feat. Despot & Princess Nokia)
5. Rome Fortune+ Ceej - Blacktop
6. Deech - Hi-end Babe
7. Outfit - Genderless
8. Ibeyi - Ghosts
9. Buddy Banter - I Miss You
10. Torres - Strange Hellos

Track of the Day: 'Choose Your Enemy' by Thee Faction

Political agit-pop of the highest order, reminiscent of bands from The Redskins through to The King Blues. The perfect antidote to the Leaders Election Debate on the TV right now.