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.

Recommended music: 'The Universe Smiles Upon You' by Khruangbin

There's a gentle warmth and familiarity about this record that disguises it's originality. It sounds a little bit trip-hop, a little bit Acid Jazz, a little bit world music, a little bit psychedelic, but the intriguing fact is that it takes all of those influences and melds them into a new creature. In fact it turns out that their main influence is Thai funk and pop from the 60s and 70s, which is not something you can say about many bands.

There's an analogue feel to the recordings, and also a live atmosphere that makes me believe they did these recordings as near to live as they could in the barn in Texas they used as a studio.

Khruangbin (the name translates as Engine Fly from the Thai) were originally conceived as an instrumental act, and you have to get five tracks into the record before the first vocals appear on 'White Gloves'. This was the first thing I heard from them and it drew me in with its laid-back, Californian groove, congas and gentle, slightly mystified vocal.



More instrumentals follow, including the disco funk of 'People Everywhere (Still Alive)', which in an alternate universe is taken from the soundtrack to the Asian remake of Saturday Night Fever.


My one criticism of the record is that I really wish there'd been a few moments where they'd opened up and just let rip, allowing the guitars to soar and the tracks to take flight a bit more. There are a few bars towards the middle of 'August Twelve' where you think this is going to happen but then everything calms down again, which is a shame.


All in all though this is a record that invites you in and encourages you to sink into its welcoming arms, a benign smile upon its face, much like the universe itself.

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Track of the Day: 'Winter Sun' by Sarah Williams White

A beautiful tribute to the awesome eternity of the sun, and in some ways a direct descendant of 'Everybody Loves The Sunshine' by Roy Ayers, this trippy, soulful little number is a taster for the forthcoming mini-album 'Of The New World'. Sit back and let its rays wash over you.

Track of the Day: 'The Lavishments of Light Looking' by Woke (Flying Lotus, Shabazz Palaces & Thundercat) feat. George Clinton

Available as part of this year's Adult Swim Singles releases, this trippy psych-funk smorgasbord of delights is very much equal to the sum of its parts. It kinda feels like FlyLo, having been mostly kept out of the loop on the Kendrick Lamar album project, has decided to form his own to rival it. Whatever the driver behind it, it's new, it's fresh and you can download it for free from the Adult Swim site here - let's hope there's an album of this stuff coming...

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: 'Jaakko Eino Kalevi' by Jaakko Eino Kalevi

New out on Domino imprint Weird World Records, the debut album from Finnish ex-bus driver  Kalevi is a cool breeze blowing through various strands of electronic based music. I'm not sure what he's sinking about himself in the first track 'JEK' (my Finnish is a bit, well non-existent) but you have to admire him for opening up his first lp with a that as the subject matter. 'Double Talk is up next and it's a smooth indie pop track with a hint of Smashing Pumpkins' '1979' about it. It's followed by 'Deeper Shadows', which, like a few of the tracks, features extra vocals from Suad Khalifa. It's also got a riff like an early Jean-Michel Jarre melody thrown in for good measure.

'Say' is a little bit funkier & definitely reminds me of one of the minor synth-pop bands from the 80s, although I can't quite put my finger on which one. Next is 'Mind Like Muscle', a deceptively bouncy number that would suit a train ride across the Finnish tundra, with a glacial guitar solo at the end. The halfway point is reached with 'Night at the Field', full of brittle, brisk guitar and softly-sung vocals.

There's a laid-back, lounge crooner feel on 'Don't Ask Me Why' that definitely suits him, and kind of makes me wish for a whole album of songs from him in this style. 'Room' is a sultry slow jam that shows JEK has got the songwriting skills to pen a massive hit, maybe for someone else, if he wants to. Then 'Hush Down' steps up the indie-funk and provides a brooding soundtrack for you to shuffle across the dancefloor to.

This leaves us with closer 'Ikuinen Purkautumaton Jannite'. Like a John Carpentet or Cliff Martinez soundtrack this takes you on a cinematic journey, while an enigmatic female narrator tells a story. Halfway through the pace picks up as the journey takes flight. A saxophone appears and we're on the run from persons unknown. It's a great way to finish the album and I'd definitely like to hear more of this sort of stuff from him.

In some places on the record there are hints of fellow Scandinavian Todd Terje; not so much in the beats but maybe in the feel and style of what he's aiming for. A few tracks also remind me of Night Works so if you like this you should check them out to.

The album is out now, and there's a particularly nice vinyl version with a bonus 7" and a comic if you can track it down.

PS a disclaimer: I've listened to this 4 or 5 times but when I came to write the review my headphones broke 2 songs in. Most of this is therefore based on what was in my left ear, so if something startling happened in the right channel I might've missed it!

Video of the Day: 'Breakdown' by Peaking Lights

The first track from Peaking Lights forthcoming album 'Cosmic Logic' now comes with a clever and amusing video about how someone's obsession with a smart phone ruins their life. It's a cautionary tale for sure so make sure you take the message on board my friends.



The album comes out on October 6th via Weird World Records, and the band will be playing a few dates in Paris, Glasgow, Liverpool & London between 21st and 28th November, so go see 'em.

Recommended music: 'Annabel Dream Reader' by The Wytches

First things first - this is a record that cries out to be played (loudly) on vinyl, which is what I'm doing as I write this. Its swampy, garage-rock pyschedelia harks back to days before the invention of crisp digital files and seems tailor-made for the surface noise of a record (as an added bonus the record is gold vinyl which looks pretty neat as it spins around). Recorded at Liam Watson's famous Toe Rag studios in a short space of time it could well have dropped through a wormhole from the late 60s if not for the faint whiff of Hoxton hipster that somehow seems to accompany this Brighton trio.

Co-produced with ex-Coral member Bill Ryder-Jones the albums is apparently a loose concept album about a breakup. While you can hear tales of woe in the lyrics it's as much the sound of Kristian Bell's voice that tells the story as the words. His Jack White-wine is at times pathetic and at others terrifying as he swings from pleas to screams. Beneath this there's plenty of variation and depth in the music which suggests that the band could turn their hands to pretty much any musical styles they want. Previous single 'Wire Frame Mattress' is one of the stand-out tracks but there's plenty to keep your interest throughout the record, especially the closing pair of 'Crying Clown' and 'Track 13'.

The album is out now on Heavenly Recordings, you can hear a few tracks below. 

Remix of the Day: 'Shelter Song (Leftside Wobble Rocks The Discoteque Mix)' by Temples

Very much in the vein of the Time & Space Dubs of Jagwar Ma's album last year, this mix pretty much manages to include sounds and vibes from every decade since the '60s. It's psychedelia via the disco via the warehouse rave via the club, and it's really rather ace. The icing on the cake is that you can grab it as a free download until the vinyl comes out on Heavenly Recording in a few weeks. You can listen to it and download it for free below, just make sure you play it loud!