A rare treat then to go to a gig with Mrs Mackerel, and also Movie Mate and the Mother of Kittens too. Also a rare treat to not be the oldest swingers in town, judging by the clientele as we entered Oxford’s gloomy Carling Academy. Laura Marling has that rare capacity to attract those from all ages – from the intent young girl on my left … Continue reading Live Review: Laura Marling (Oxford Academy)
Lawrence, Kansas duo Arc Flash, who will release their full length debut Carbon Copy on 31st March, via High Dive Records, have shared the record’s latest single, Divination. The duo of Mark Rockwell (drums) and James Thomblison (guitar/vocals) who also play in garage psych band Psychic Heat, offer their own unique brand of sonic space rock and intense mutant pop, built on blistering punk energy, infectious hooks, and raw, fuzzy … Continue reading Introducing >>> Arc Flash
What’s All This New Piss? might well be our favourite record title of the year so far. It is the name of the latest release from New York fuzz-pop duo Yawn Mower. The ethos of the pair is simple: make fuzzy, surfy good time tunes while having a blast doing it. On the evidence of Paddle Out and Shed Is Old, it’s mission accomplished. Have a listen. … Continue reading MM Shorts 928: Yawn Mower
Scab Hand are another band to emerge from Brighton’s febrile underbelly, a three-piece forged from former Love Buzzard frontman and guitarist Kevin Lennon, former Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster drummer Rob Ling and bassist Dan Stirrat. Irregular Bed is their debut single, a hugely enjoyable squelching fuzz pot of squealing aural mayhem. Have a listen. Continue reading MM Shorts 927: Scab Hand
This week our round up includes a brilliantly angry and frustrated single from Swedish sisters First Aid Kit for International Women’s Day, another track from the prolific Ty Segall’s upcoming EP, the first taste from Bonnie Prince Billy’s Merle Haggard covers record with a version of the classic Mama Tried. This week’s offering from the Our First 100 Days Project comes from Self Esteem (none other … Continue reading Nine Songs You Should Have Heard This Week
Steeped in a lo-fi aesthetic, Top Down’s debut album, Rough Roads, is a record of powerful guitar riffs, catchy lines and melodies and a tough drum beat. Sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes loud and sometimes quiet, it is a road trip to nowhere through a ragged landscape telling stories of love and failure, doubts and contradictions, and endless struggles and temptation. Check out the first … Continue reading Top Down – Rough Roads
Norwegian livewire punks Sløtface constantly look to spin conventions on their head. For their song Empire Records (off the EP of the same name) they have spoofed the 2000 classic High Fidelity, complete with a John Cusack character and all! Watch it below, and catch them at SxSW if you’re there… Continue reading New Video: Sløtface – Empire Records
Irish garage punks Otherkin were a most enjoyable discovery at the Great Escape last year, and after the success of the 201 EP and it’s successor The New Vice EP the four-piece are back with their first single of 2017, Bad Advice. It is the lead track from their upcoming debut album and cements their reputation for furious, old fashioned, punk rock. Have a listen. Continue reading Otherkin – Bad Advice
Back in January we shared the fuzzy, agitated slacker-pop of Eureka California’s new single Wigwam. Now the Athens, Georgia duo have offered up a second track from the single to share – the equally good Only Birds No Feathers. Have a listen – they’ll also be at SxSW this month too. Continue reading Eureka California – Only Birds No Feathers
Happy days! After too many years of silence, Portland, Oregon folk-rockers The Builders and the Butchers are back with a new record, Spark. Name checking influences for the new album as later Tom Waits and White Blood Cells era White Stripes, they’ve shared Older Than Sin, a singalong rush of rumbling guitars and anthemic vocals. Listen below and check out that album art too – always fabulous. Continue reading The Builders And The Butchers Announce New Album
The Mad Mackerel 