Last month we posted Brother Gruesome’s excellent new track Tubes – the A side from new single For The Morphine Makes You Comfortable. Here is the video for the song, THEEND puppeteers (with the help of animator Shawn Downey) have beautifully adapted the shadow show they perform live with Brother Gruesome to tell the story of a dying loved one. The song deals with long declining … Continue reading Brother Gruesome Video
Last year How Snakes Eat by Mathew Sawyer & The Ghosts was one of our favourite albums – a quirkily brilliant expedition into idiosyncratic folk of the most original kind where the vision and inspiration seemed almost otherworldly. Back then we said, “Quivering, quavering vocals, violins, a throbbing cello, guitars that flit from the minimal to the staccato and all overlaid with some of the … Continue reading Mathew Sawyer & The Ghosts Get US Release
The Western Boundary is the title of the debut album from Santa Cruz five piece Rat Trap. It is an intriguing blend of indie rock, folk and even a bit of post rock. The results are melodic, catchy and have that little extra something that means the songs are insistently hanging around in your head long after you’ve finished listening. Good stuff! Visit MySpace here, … Continue reading Introducing…Rat Trap
Our friend Scottish Kate let us know via a comment on our post that Withered Hand made it to SxSW. Good news indeed and thanks to anyone who helped via Twitter, Facebook or anything else. They’re in for a treat in Austin. And why not check Kate’s own blog Burdz Eye View for all things good (and not so) in politics, music and much else … Continue reading Withered Hand Made It!
We have really enjoyed the dusky folk of Alela Diane’s previous albums, and so To Begin, a taster from forthcoming record Alela Diane & Wild Devine came as a bit of a surprise – it is bolder and more self-assured with more of a countrified twang than her usual sparser, pastoral folk feel. The vocal is gorgeous as always and a couple of listens is all it takes … Continue reading New Song from Alela Diane
A good while ago, while we were still on Google’s crappy Blogspot, and before we were unfairly, ridiculously and arbitrarily removed (not that we’re bitter you understand) we introduced Ohioan, a band whose blend of country and folk music evoked the wide, sweeping vistas of their homeland and whose songs spoke with a quite grandeur and majesty. Now they are back after too long a … Continue reading Ohioan Are Back
Back in January, we gave you the first excellent track from the Obits new album Moody, Standard and Poor, which is out on Sub Pop Records on the 29th March. To help the time pass, here is a second track of surf influenced, stripped back, garage rock in the shape of Shift Operator. Download Obits – Shift Operator mp3 (from Moody, Standard and Poor) Download … Continue reading More from the Obits
Fresh off the back of the acclaim and success of latest album The King Is Dead, The Decemberists headed into our neck of the woods this week to play a short series of live dates. Birmingham HMV Institute is a good fit for the band, it is an old and beautiful historical building with many tales to tell – the intelligent, literate (and often historical) … Continue reading The Decemberists: Live Review
Some more half decent, decent, and downright entertaining videos for you to check out. The Agitator’s new single Say NO! is a politically charged call to arms set against an equally radical new musical style. Not a guitar in sight, just front man Derek Meins’ force-of-nature voice accompanied by Robert Dylan Thomas and T-Train on thunderous double drums. Pared down and primal! a Bergen, Norway-based … Continue reading Video Round Up
For some unfathomable reason the wonderful Withered Hand has so far been denied a visa to enter the USA and play at SxSW – apparently this is based on some arbitrary judgement about his artistic merits. Clearly this is bollocks, but time is running out to get the decision overturned – as you can see from the e-mail he sent out: Dear everybody I had … Continue reading Help Withered Hand get to SxSW
The Mad Mackerel 