TRACKS OF THE WEEK - The Arcs, Editors, Michael Head and the Strands, Foals, Mikal Cronin

TRACKS OF THE WEEK - The Arcs, Editors, Michael Head and the Strands, Foals, Mikal Cronin

Editors Foals Michael Head and the Strands Mikal Cronin The Arcs Tracks of the Week Tune Doctor TuneDoctor

Five tracks to remember Cecil by...

Flycasual:-
Foals - 'What Went Down' (2015)

Bobby Dylan once said 'play f@&£ing loud'. That legendary phrase is no more appropriate than for the Foals latest offering, a rowdy rollicking rock fest that gave me the sudden urge to go wrestle a bear! 'What Went Down' is taken their forthcoming fourth album of the same name and it sounds like they've taken up from where they left off from 2013's solid, Holy Fire. I'm off to find a cave.

SFW:-

The Arcs - Stay In My Corner (2015)


If you are wondering why this sounds awfully like The Black Keys, well it is (sort of).  The Arcs is a side project of Dan Auerbach and features producer Richard Swift and El Michels Affair main man Leon Michel. Stay In My Corner features on the album called Yours, Dreamily that is out in September. It has the bluesy-rock feel of the Black Keys but having Swift on board has me intrigued!  

Old Pa :-
Michael Head - Queen Matilda (1997)

 

I have been a fan of Michael Head ever since I bought the fabulous HMS Fable (1999) when he was under the banner of Shack. For some reason I missed out on the album Michael Head and the Strands, The Magical World of the Strands (1997). The album is quite brilliant and if you are (like me) a fan of Arthur Lee and Love then this album is a must for you. I am currently playing it all the time.  

This track is taken from the reissue of the album and contains outtakes as well.

London Scouser:-
Mikal Cronin - 'Made My Mind Up' (2015)

I first heard this and thought it was very summery and had a little of 'The Beach Boys' about it in some of the harmonies. Looking into the artist I see that he's from Laguna Beach, California and he grew up liking surfing and rock and roll music so maybe that's where the Beach Boys sound comes from. This is from his third album 'MCIII' which was released earlier this year.

Shell Hunter:-
Editors - ' No Harm' (2015)

As much as I quite liked a couple of songs from their last album, I thought they were starting to sound a bit like U2. Now this is much more refreshing and has regained the darkness I used to enjoy. When I was first played it by London Scouser, I immediately liked it and knew the voice sounded familiar but couldn't place it. When he revealed it was the Editors, I was surprised and bizarrely disappointed! I felt that if I could play this for people without them knowing who it was, they would enjoy it and not be immediately put off by the name Editors. Have they really slipped too far into the mainstream for me to be a music snob about liking them? Of course not, they still rock. The new album In Dream is out 2nd of October.

Its available as a free download here, if anyone still does that?!

Listen or even better, subscribe to our tracks of the week playlist here...

sfw Pada 08:02 6 Komentar

TRACKS OF THE WEEK 07/09/14 - Hozier, The Sour Notes, Lonely The Brave, Ben Howard, Real Lies

TRACKS OF THE WEEK 07/09/14 - Hozier, The Sour Notes, Lonely The Brave, Ben Howard, Real Lies

Ben Howard Eddie Vedder Editors Hozier Lonely The Brave Mike Skinner Pet Shop Boys Peter Gabriel Real Lies The Sour Notes The Streets Tracks of the Week

Five tracks that were top of the agenda this week....

Flycasual:-
Real Lies - 'North Circular' (2014)

The notorious stretch of road in north London that is more akin to a car park at certain times. Oh but not this time....this is the late ride home after a night out, void of traffic dreamy, head a bit fuzzy, stopping at the garage on the way to answer the call for a sausage roll. I only heard this yesterday so it was a late entry, it made an instant impression, an intriguing cross between The Streets and The Pet Shop Boys (how's that for a marriage). 'North Circular' is taken from the London trio's forthcoming second album, find out more about them on Marathon Artists record label.

Sfw:-
Ben Howard - I Forget Where We Were (2014)


I've been eagerly awaiting Ben Howard's latest release.  Would it follow a similar formula? Would he try something different?  After listening to this, it certainly follows his tried-and-tested recipe and who can blame him. When he won the 2013 BRIT award everyone was wondering where he came from. (Born in Middlesex, raised in Devon).  He's been releasing material since 2008, but it wasn't until his 2010 EP release that I caught on. I was fortunate to see him in a nearby town (Narberth) in 2011, which was last time he played West Wales (my wife still gives me grief that she never went to it!).  His new album is out 20th October  

Old Pa's Corner :-
Lonely The Brave - Deserter (2014)

 

This a track from Lonely The Brave and certainly shows intent. There seems to be a bit of a 'noise' about these lads from Cambridge. Looks to me if they are heading for the big time. This song is destined to be heard at the festivals next season along with their other anthems. I was thinking Editors when listening to them, not a bad thing. Do you agree that the guy's voice sounds a bit like Peter Gabriel with a hint of that guy from Pearl Jam, or is it just me.  Anyway the new album, their first, is called The Days Of War (2014).  

Shell Hunter:-
Hozier - 'Take Me To Church' (2013)

Definitely not to be mistaken for The Hoosiers, this Irish soul-o artist can seriously hollar. I love the echoeiness of this track, you could quite easily be sat alone in one of those massive catherdrals, its a real goosebump factory. He realeased an EP with the same name last year but I am only starting to hear it around now strangely. He followed it closely with another EP Eden but his debut album is due out in a couple of weeks simply titled Hozier. I'm feeling another young singer songwriter success story coming on, it'll be the bank not church he'll be visiting!

London Scouser:-

The Sour Notes - 'Two Hands Wait' (2014)

Earlier this week I was in Charlotte, NC for one night to test a new uniform for my job, it's a hard life I know. Whilst trying and not succeeding in sleeping I looked on facebook and saw that my favourite band from last year, Black Books, had posted a poster of an upcoming gig to celebrate the album launch for fellow Austin, TX band 'The Sour Notes'. Finally after a 4 month hiatus my 'Austin Phase' was back on. I listened to the album in question 'Do What May' and liked what that first hearing had to offer. Their wikipedia page describes their musical style as 'Indie Rock' & 'Dream Pop' and I definitely get that. I've chosen this song for two reasons, 1 is that it has a great sound but the 2nd reason it the really cool video. It's an homage to scary films like 'Paranormal Activity' and the like. Their official launch was on 06th September and I hope it went well.

Listen or even better, subscribe to our tracks of the week playlist here...

sfw Pada 00:40 5 Komentar

TRACKS OF THE WEEK - 11/05/2013 - Editors, Balmorhea, Rachid Taha,Jay-Z and Kanye West, Kate Nash

TRACKS OF THE WEEK - 11/05/2013 - Editors, Balmorhea, Rachid Taha,Jay-Z and Kanye West, Kate Nash

Balmorhea Editors Jay-Z Kanye West Kate Nash Rachid Taha Skateboarding is not a crime Tracks of the Week World Music Corner

Five tracks that Sir Alex wanted on his retirement playlist...

Old Pa's Corner:-
Jay-Z and Kanye West - No Church in the Wild (2012)

 

This is not normally my thang, But I checked out the Soundtrack of  the re-make of The Great Gatsby and was quite surprised at some of the tracks. This one hit me immediately. I have never heard it before, in my Spanish Isolation'  but it appears it is not a new track and was pretty popular last year. Well it is on a sountrack for 2013 and that is good enough for me and Bobby Davro.  

Shell Hunter:-

Editors - 'A Ton Of Love' (2013)

Could this new upbeat single divide die hard Editors fans? Well I don't care, I love it! It reminds me of two mega bands: U2 (in a good old school way) and Echo and the Bunnymen with elements of 'Bring On The Dancing Horses'. The band haven't had an album out since 2009, I can't believe its been so long. I've always loved their dark Joy Division-esque style and Tom Smith's smooth and dark as Colombian coffee vocals, but I can also welcome change. The long awaited album title was revealed last week as The Weight Of Your Love (suitable dark!) and will be released on July 1st. With rumours of being "more electronic but with a nod to their past", I think the new direction they seem to be pointing is going to be a great destination!

More info on their official site here...

SFW:- Balmorhea - Pyrakantha (2013)

 Balmorhea - Pyrakantha [official] from Colin Kennedy on Vimeo.
I've been listening to quite a bit of so called instrumental music recently and Balmorhea certainly hit the spot!  I call it instrumental, but it's really just musical medicine, they've perfected the way to create sonic landscapes that the listener applies. Pyrakantha features on their 2012 album Strangers.  The video was filmed by director Colin Kennedy, who spent many early evening shooting skateboarder Danny Garcia as he takes a journey through some of Kennedy's favorite parts of Los Angeles as the final moments of daylight ("the Magic Hour") gave way to night. It perfectly matches the mood of the music and gets me wanting to apply a serious dose of WD40 to my old skate bones!  What was our old saying? "Old Skate Dogs Never Die!"

Flycasual:-

Rachid Taha - 'Ana' (2013)

This is a fantastic Alt-Country-esque track which sounds as if it's from Nashville via Algiers. Amongst some great songs on this month's Songlines magazine CD sampler, Rachid Taha's 'Ana' stood out. Even before the Arab Spring had sprung, Rachid Taha has always been a controversial figure across North Africa for being politically outspoken and for his take on Punk Rock with an Algerian twist (he's even meant to have influenced the Clash's 'Rock The Casbah', going on the record the brilliant 'Rock El Casbah' Click to view)). Despite this, his music remains popular across the Arab world as well as the West and 'Ana' is taken from his latest album, Zoom, released last month.

Rachid Taha's official website...

London Scouser:-

Kate Nash - OMYGOD! (2013)

For me the jury has been out on Kate Nash, I've really liked a few of her tracks like 'Foundations' & 'Pumpkin Soup' but I considered her a bit too poppy for me. Her credibility went up when I saw she was going out with Ryan Jarman, lead singer of The Cribs. If she's good enough for him I thought, then I should give her another try. And then last week I found that Ms Nash was responsible for getting Scroobius Pip noticed by suggesting he sent in a demo CD to xFM's John Kennedy.

For him, the rest is history. For her, kudos is due.
I first heard this song at the beginning of the week and loved its summery happiness. At the time of writing, its 'rissing down with pain' but I'm still enjoying it. The start seems to remind me of The Cribs until the chorus comes in, or am I just trying to hear it ?? What do you think ??

Checkout previous Tracks of the week here

Subscribe to our 2013 Tracks of the Week Spotify Playlist

sfw Pada 08:49 5 Komentar