folks.
this week is turning out to be a little weird. i suspect a lot of this is due to the fact that today is my 15th wedding anniversary. 15 years man.
when i tied the knot i was a lost individual with crap taste in clothes and far too many records that i never listened to.
weirdly, 15 years on, only one of those of those issues has been dealt with.
anyway, due to reasons mentioned i suspect this is why i’m not really wanting noisey new noise, but instead its a welcome return of old school soul music. yes, i’ve dug out all those wonderful $tateside reissues and am feeling the lurrrrve.
however, in the interst of the public service i should tell you about some compilations that are currently glaring at me from the desk.
first up, kitsune maison release their third compilation, called, umm, compilation 3. having not heard vols 1 and 2 i cant compare, but this 15 track set (unlisted digitalism track !) is a perfect addition to all you folks who like their indie with a chunk of electrodance thrown in. there are tracks with remixed squelchy noises all over the place (soulwax remix gossip, simian mobile disco, metronomy remix dead disco etc etc), there are cooler than thou names involved (hello klaxons, the fantastic the whip, and electro pop from freeform five), and generally this is the sort of compilation that i would expect to make people who go to trash and read vice magazine rather chuffed and feeling all superior.
track listing :
simian mobile disco – i believe
the lovely feathers – frantic
the whip – trash
fox n wolf – youth alcoholic
klaxons – gravity’s rainbow (van she mix)
freeform five – home wit u
boys noize – feel good (tv=off)
gossip – standing.. (soulwax mix)
alex gopher – motorcycle
the world domination – galactic lover
dead disco – the treatment (metronomy mix)
the valentinos – kafka
oh no! oh no! – i love you all the time
the whitest boy alive – done with you
the lovely feathers – frantic
the whip – trash
fox n wolf – youth alcoholic
klaxons – gravity’s rainbow (van she mix)
freeform five – home wit u
boys noize – feel good (tv=off)
gossip – standing.. (soulwax mix)
alex gopher – motorcycle
the world domination – galactic lover
dead disco – the treatment (metronomy mix)
the valentinos – kafka
oh no! oh no! – i love you all the time
the whitest boy alive – done with you
for those that like to dig a little deeper than the usual fashion magazine sanctioned released there are a couple of indie compilations that seem to be worthy if you are wanting to see whats going on out there.
if you want to find out about bands that the glorious nme seems to be all over at the moment, then i point you in the direction of the third compilation coming out from those fine people at the angular recording corporation, future love songs.
track listing :
happy alone – twisted charm
which way is up – cause comotion
gravity’s rainbow – klaxons
i want to be tracy emin – these new puritans
outerregions – to my boy
hypocrite – theoretical girl
lust in the movies – long blondes
in this way – violets
simply left behind – lodger
pleasurewood kills – lost penguin
eye t.v. – be be see
elvis and the beatles – vichy government
my new building – navvy
magnet face – wetdog
leave the house – low edges
poveri rovinatori – mitten
as you can see, the compilation again features band of the moment, the klaxons, alongside the other big indie crossover act, the long blondes whose contribution is by far the best thing i have heard that recalls c86 buzz pop and yet manages to sound vital in 2006. as for the rest, well it’s a mash of low budget garage production, jerky guitars and a few cracking tunes.
some of it grates these ears, for example, i had to bypass the annoying opener track and prey things improved as i delved deeper into the tracklist, and, thankfully, they do sometimes with wonderful results. as well as the obvious reference points (you know the names, you know the reasons), i found myself suddenly craving siouxsie and the banshees back catalogue during the fantastic in this way by new name to me, violets (note – no bands prefix their names with the – ha !), which is violently juxtaposed by the sweet and innocent sounding lodger, who are supposedly on course to become a contender in 2007 when their debut finally gets itself sorted, and from the records released so far, i have no problems with them getting everything they deserve for their melody heavy old school indie pop. and i mean that in a good way. jolting the listener out of the imposed genteel slumber comes the distorted synths and shoutouts by lost penguin, which i’m sure sound great live, but just stick out like a sore thumb amongst the neighbours, whereas, vichy government is all too arty and self important in its demo bedroom madness, which may just mean they become the biggest band. ever. oh, and as it par for the course within the world of alternative guitar based music, there has to be a the fall soundalike band, and for this, low edges do the mark e smith rant-a-garage racket in fine style.
of course, not every band featured here are going to get nme cover status, but for a quick summary of all that is independant in 2006 (and going into 2007), this is not a bad little starter pack, and i never mentioned new/nu/neu rave once.
more detail : here