Flaws (released, 12th July) is the stunningly beautiful, new acoustic album by Bombay Bicycle Club. Having finished recording their debut LP I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose in February 2009, the band went straight back into the studio days after they submitted the master for I Had The Blues, and started the initial recordings for this album. Flaws is characterised by a … Continue reading Flaws Video from Bombay Bicycle Club
The Sister Ruby Band is the project of 21-year-old singer/songwriter Johnny Ruby. Vienna-born and Los Angeles- raised, Ruby currently resides in London where he is studying art at Goldsmith’s University of London. A Shot In The Dark is a five track demo EP that showcases a lot of musical styles – ranging from dylanesque, strummed Americana to Velvet’s inspired guitar feedback to Byrdsian harmonies. And … Continue reading Introducing…The Sister Ruby Band
We first heard this single on Radio 6 a few weeks ago and were completely blown away by the brilliant mix of full-on old-school metal riffing and its psychedelic overtones and climax. We made an immediate note to self to track this song down at all costs. The band is Tweak Bird, brothers Caleb (guitar, vocals) and Ashton Bird (drums, vocals), natives of Carbondale, IL … Continue reading Mad Mackerel Recommends…Tweak Bird
It’s hard keeping up with all the new releases and good stuff that is coming our way. Here is a quick and dirty round-up of some of the tracks that have been tickling our ears recently. The Sandwitches have been MM faves ever since we got hold of their excellent How To Make Ambient Sadcake album last year. They now have a new one-sided 12″ … Continue reading MM’s Weekend Round Up
Harlowe & The Great North Woods are another band from Portland, and another playing the kind of warm, mellow folk that seems so dominant in that neck of the woods. And they are another who do it extremely well. They have a six track self-titled EP out now and the track we have for you, Roses, is a song that envelops and soothes with its … Continue reading Introducing…Harlowe & The Great North Woods
With Kathleen, The Ferocious Few have joyously raided the rock’n’roll cupboard and produced a sub two minute classic. With Porcelain Doll, The Ferocious Few have joyously raided the rock’n’roll cupboard and produced a sub two minute classic. With their debut album Juices, The Ferocious Few have joyously…well you probably get the picture. Like many before them, this Californian duo have plundered blues, punk, rockabilly, lo-fi … Continue reading Introducing…The Ferocious Few
Tonight’s topic: men with beards. This Friday evening, I’m out with two jolly fine chaps: MM and one of my bestest friends and main gigging partner (neither of whom currently sport beards). And off we will trot in an appropriately jaunty fashion, down the Cowley Road, to sway in time to the Band of Horses (almost uniformly, a group of men with an abundance of … Continue reading Mrs Mackerel’s TFI Friday
Mathew Sawyer & The Ghosts are from North London, but frankly sound like their inspiration comes from another world, one that you and I have no experience of at all. New album How Snakes Eat was released late last month and is a startling record that demands your full attention from the very first moment. Quivering, quavering vocals, violins, a throbbing cello, guitars that flit … Continue reading Mad Mackerel Recommends…Mathew Sawyer & The Ghosts
In 2008, Catherine Feeny drove 12,000 miles with her husband-to-be in a 1990 Mazda 323 called Swansong, playing more than 40 planned and impromptu shows in dens, living rooms and gardens all over the United States. She had just been dropped by her London-based record label and the situation called for radical action. “It was a break-up,” says Feeny. “I felt like I’d been kicked … Continue reading Mad Mackerel Recommends…Catherine Feeny
This is one of those standard music blogger confessions. The “I’ve been meaning to post this for ages, but somehow never got round to it”. The injured party on this occasion is the marvellous Luther Russell and his Motorbike EP, which saw the light of day back in February. At the time we were hugely taken with the songs on the EP (which are taken … Continue reading Luther Russell – a late post…
The Mad Mackerel 