Track of the Day: 'Seats' by Funktionslust

A brand new act for you today, but they're miminal and mysterious. So what can I tell you about them? They're a duo, they're from New Cross...and that's it. The tracks's great though - what I particularly like about it is how it starts off all cold and minimal, and then they gradually decide to throw the kitchen sink at it as it goes on.



Personally I think that all this mysteriousness is getting a bit old hat, so I hope that when they come back with their next track we find out a bit more about them.

New music: 'Fragmenta' by Late

Hailing from Miami, Florida, Late are an electronic duo with a feel for cold rhythms and metronomic beatscapes, who operate in the axis where deep space meets the deep blue sea. Despite their impossible-to-Google band name they could be set for big things if this demo that comes to us courtesy of Fat Cat Records is anything to go by. Have a listen or download the track below.

New band of the day: Vancouver Sleep Clinic

Despite what their name might suggest, this is a young band from Brisbane, Australia. Mostly the work of the 17-year old Tim Bettinson, so far they've released just two hauntingly beautiful tracks, but that's enough to make me think that they've got a bright future ahead of them. The first track, 'Vapour', came out at the end of July, and shows that it's possible to make gorgeous music even if you've only got a crappy laptop, a couple of battered microphones and a free trial version of Pro-Tools to work with.



The second, 'Collapse', emerged at the start of the year, and develops their sound to become even more intense and touching. I know what you're thinking and yes, he does sound quite a lot like Justin Vernon, but that doesn't stop these being brilliant tracks.



I'll be watching these guys carefully in 2014 as I think, and hope, that they'll be releasing some more stunning music.

PS Thanks to Ben Watt for introducing me to this band via his last 6mix broadcast on BBC 6music.

Recommended music: 'There Is Nothing More Frightening Than The Passing Of Time' by The Superman Revenge Squad Band

Sometimes you can tell that you're going to like a record just by reading the song titles. This album is a prime example of that - here's the tracklisting:

1. Lately I've Found Myself Regressing
2. Kendo Nagasaki
3. I'm Gonna Go To Bed and When I Wake Up I'm Gonna Be Someone Else
4. Flavor Flav
5. Paulie In Rocky Three
6. A Funny Thing You Said
7. We're Here For The Duration
8. The Angriest Dog In The World

Who could fail to like an album with titles like that? I'm pleased to say that the songs themselves more than live up to their billing.  The albums themes - growing old, being a failure, modern life is rubbish but then it probably always was - fit perfectly with Ben Parker's world-weary delivery and the understated musical accompaniment. The lyrics are packed full of wit and a whole range of cultural references, from music "And 'Persistence of Time' by Anthrax means more to me than something like 'Blood On The Tracks'", through film "the scene from Rocky 3 where Paulie smashes up the pinball machine", TV "I clearly remember...Saturday mornings with Jimmy Greaves", and radio "I'm probably never gonna be on Desert Island Discs, but that doesn't necessarily mean that all of this was a waste of time", to the internet "I had to Google myself just to prove that I exist" and pubs "Wetherspoons meals are cheaper when there's two".

Snatches of lyrics and vocals on here remind me of Art Brut, particularly parts of 'I'm Gonna Go To Bed...'. It's the kind of thing that you could imagine John Peel playing if he was still with us, and in fact BBC Radio 6 Music, John's spiritual home, have already played some tracks. It's hard to imagine there being anything that you could do to this record that would make it more perfect than it already is. Anyone who can equate a break-up with Public Enemy performing without Flavor Flav, or R.E.M being stuck with having to play 'Automatic For The People' for the rest of their career, as Parker does in the immaculate 2 minutes and 35 seconds of 'Flavor Flav', should probably be installed on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square and instantly declared a National Treasure. To paraphrase one of Parker's lyrics from that song, I don't think I'd want to fight the power without him by my side.

You can download a free track from the album below.

New music: 'MMMMMHMMMMM' by Four Fists

Fresh out of Minneapolis comes this collaboration from Astronautalis and P.O.S, who've joined forces under the Four Fists moniker and are releasing this single via Doomtree Records in October. Together they produced a huge, multi-layered sound that's part Nine Inch Nails, part gang mentality, part sung, part rapped but all powerful and all consuming.

The duo are now working on an album which, if this is anything to go by, will be a dark feast for your ears. Listen to the track below.

Recommended music: 'Comfort Songs' by Cloud

There's a line in 'Cars & It's Autumn', the opening track on this album, that pretty much seems to sum up the whole feeling and purpose of the record. "Funny how I'm happy now, singing about my sadness" sings 21-year old Tyler Taormina, and you get the sense that in some ways the record is his own personal therapy - a way of emerging from the 'difficult' teenage years and accepting that sometimes life is going to be shit, but as an adult you have to have the strength to deal with that. In doing so he provides some measure of comfort for the rest of us, hence the album's title. Walking a tightrope between optimism and despair he dips into both and ultimately emerges as a stronger human being - "My ego still needs me to be number one, but I think that I figured it out / That I only wish to be a positive force, and I don't wanna be the main character of my own life anymore" is the phrase that closes 'Authorless Novel'.

Musically this a broad church, with piano led numbers, acoustic moments, some beautiful trumpet solos, and even one or two musical moments that Mogwai would be proud of. Some bits of it remind me of Mercury Rev as well, although I can't really put my finger on why. Halfway through there's a section of songs (the end of 'Stomach Pit' & the start of 'Frere Jacques and Me') that remind me so much of hymns I used to sing at school that I wonder if there is a religious element to Taormina's upbringing, and if this in some way contributed to his teenage torment. 'Desperation Club', the longest song on the album, even comes with its own manifesto, and states 'If this were a movement, its members would follow not by choice or will'; a Fight Club for the weak and disenfranchised then.

Other great things on this record? The line "Celebrate celibate strangers", which could have come from the pen of Morrissey. The choir of friends on 'A Light Wish Weighs A Lot'.  The way that at times it feels like the whole thing is about to get out of control before it's gently reeled in. The way that the 'Ave Maria' violin introduction of'Stomach Pit' gives way to the song's melody, which has more than a passing resemblance to 'Amazing Grace'.

If you're looking for comparisons then this is every bit as haunting and touching as last year's 'Put Your Back N 2 It' by Perfume Genius. But you shouldn't really be comparing this to anything as it's in a class of its own.

The album is out on Audio Antihero on August 5th and is available as a download or a limited-edition cd - click here to order. And whilst I don't wish any ill on Jamie or his record label, it's safe to say that if he shut it down tomorrow he could feel safe in the knowledge that he's helped to give birth to a truly great record.

New Band of the Day: Yong Yong

Hailing from Lisbon, Portugal, the due of Rodolfo Brito and Francisco Silva, mine a late-night seam of warped electronics, ambient sounds, effects and loops. The overall effect is a bit like going to sleep with the radio on and drifting in and out of consciousness while the radio slowly re-tunes itself. Their album 'Love' initially appeared towards the end of last year on a C60 cassette, and has since been afforded a digital release.

It's hard to pick out specific tracks or key points as it's very much something that should be listened to as one piece, but there are signposts on the journey - like the bit in 'Loboz' that sounds like Wall-E, or the dialogue on 'Bujumann' about Gandhi and Mother Teresa - that reflect just how trippy the destination is.
In part the lo-fi nature of the recordings and occasional dubby feel reminds me of early Peaking Lights stuff, but really the record inhabits a world of its own. Here are a couple of tracks from it, first off you can download 'Helder' here courtesy of the band themselves - let yourself sink into its repetitive vibe...



Next you can listen to 'Spray', which was the track that first brought them to my attention:



And then there's the final track from the album 'Escarnio Popular', which sounds like an Arabic souk from a sci-fi film:



Rodolfo Brito also occasionally post things on Youtube, here's the latest one that he's put up



Finally from their Soundcloud page, 'Material' appears to be the newest thing they've put out:



Plenty for you to get your teeth into there - enjoy!

New music: 'Red Sails' by Virginia Wing

Another great release from the Critical Heights label, who so far haven't out a foot wrong this year.

'Red Sails' is the début release from the band, who've been together for just over a year. Formed in Dalston, and featuring members of a number of other bands (most notably Samuel Pillay from Let's Wrestle) they make a breezy, summery sound that, if you play it loud enough, might just help to usher in the much-delayed Spring. You can listen to the track and download it below - the 7" comes out on May 6th.

New band of the day: Young Fathers

OK, so here's proof that you can discover great new music at SXSW without even going there. As usual Matthew from Song, by Toad has posted his annual SXSW podcast (you can listen to it by clicking here) and Young Fathers were the act that stood out for me from the ones I hadn't heard of.

I'm not sure why quality hip-hop from Scotland should be such a hard concept to grasp, but once you've heard Young Fathers you'll realise that anything can be achieved anywhere - even if they were the only good hip-hop act north of the border (which I'm sure they're not). Theirs is a pretty eclectic sort of hip-hop, taking in diverse styles and musical genres for backing tracks and samples - between the three of them they have Libyan and Nigerian as well as Scottish heritage so you can see why they paint with such a broad palette.

They've signed to the hip Anticon label and put out their first release, Tape One, earlier this year - you can listen to the whole thing on their Soundcloud page by clicking here. Listen out for the bit 39 seconds into the second track 'Sister' where 'not now' creeps out in a broad Scottish accent.

This week the band have also put out a new track called the guide - you can watch the video for the below and click here to download it for free.


Young Fathers - "The Guide" from anticon. on Vimeo.

There's no news on dates in the UK at the moment but by all accounts they were awesome in Austin so if you see that they're playing near you make sure you go and see them.

New music: 'Blush EP' by The Cherry Wave

Some full-on fuzzed out shoegaze, for fans of the original scene or revivalists like Ringo Deathstarr. I don't know much about the band except that they come from Glasgow, there's four of them, and they describe themselves as 'Gazing at shoes to make music to gaze at shoes to' and the EP as soundin like 'crumbling red tenements being engulfed by a wave from the river Clyde'. The EP is available on Bandcamp on one of those 'name your own price' deals which, if you're a cheapskate, means you can get it for free.

New band of the day: Blaenavon

Blaenavon (pronounced Bly-Nav-On) are 3 teenagers who hail from Hampshire, rather than their namesake small Welsh town. With none of them older than 17 it's a bit frightening how good they are - mature melodies and arrangements, interesting lyrics and not a cliché in sight.

Their first single 'Into The Night / Denim Patches' will be released on 11th March on Paradyse Records. You can listen to both tracks below (Denim Patches in my favourite) and order the single, which is limited to 250 copies, by clicking here.

Definitely a band to watch put for as 2013 progresses - you can catch them playing live at The Buffalo Bar in London on 21st February.