Following on from our Round Up Part 1 post yesterday, comes 16 more tracks from the in-box, our favourite blogs and the web in general for your aural delight. Kicking us off are Summer Hours and their single Close and Closer from forthcoming album Closer Still. Although they may initially sound simple, closer listening reveals complex song structures with intricate bass and guitar melodies. a Cobalt … Continue reading Round Up Time Again – Part 2
Shortlist and winner announced 3rd January 2013 The Blog Sound Poll was first published in 2011. The concept of the poll wasn’t to criticise the established BBC Sound of list, but simply an experiment to see if UK music bloggers could come up with its own list of emerging artists that was more representative of their community and give the artists that were nominated some extra … Continue reading The Blog Sound Of 2013: Long List Announced
Here is a blast from the past that Slumberland have thrown up on their Soundcloud. Whorl started in 1987 as Big Jesus Trash Can, driven by a love for The Birthday Party, early Sonic Youth and the Jesus & Mary Chain to pick up guitars and make a noise of their own. The result was this chunk of minimal nastiness, Mind Revolution. Having no studio … Continue reading Remembering: Whorl
Here are a few streams of some of the latest singles and tracks to be creating a buzz round these parts. Worth the hype or not…you decide! This is Anthem from King Tuff’s self titled album – full-on glam rock revival anyone? Order the record and/or grab yourself a free download of Bad Thing from SubPop here. a This is Husbands by Savages, part of … Continue reading Wednesday Means Seven Of The Best: Do Believe The Hype?
This week, in sunny Charlbury, smallest sprat took a tumble down the rather steep Victorian stairs. Running to his rescue, I had, at that precise moment, chosen to gargle with some mouthwash. Cheeks bulging, I picked him up, caught the (cobwebbed) ironing board in danger of falling on him, then sprinted upstairs to expel said mouthwash. Sadly, I did this in such haste and with … Continue reading Mrs Mackerel’s TFI Friday (24th February)
London bands Crushed Beaks and Torches have announced the release of a split download single featuring cover versions of each others songs. Torches’ version of Crushed Beaks’ Close-Ups is the first to be released, with Crushed Beaks’ version of Torches’ VTOO appearing online very soon. However, appearing first with their lurching cover, Torches reweld the original’s upbeat urgency into something far more dark, brooding and synonymous … Continue reading Crushed Beaks / Torches Split Single
So, as the New Year approaches, here are our favourite albums of 2011 for your consideration. Feel free to dispute, argue, or otherwise put us right because, if nothing else, music is as about as subjective topic as it is possible to get. Some of these may not be the “best” albums of the year as far as the critics are concerned, but that matters … Continue reading Mad Mackerel’s Albums Of The Year: Part 1 (50-31)
While we’re not great ones for themed mixes on MM, Halloween is one of the exceptions we like to make. Here is a perfect mix for whatever ghoulish event you’ve got lined up today! Fifteen corking tunes, from the skewed new wave pop of XTC and off-kilter indie of the Mountain Goats to the trashy surf rock of The Cramps and from the folk-stomp of the Men … Continue reading Free Halloween Mix 2011
It is a day of comebacks. Following on from our earlier post on the return of Rocket From The Tombs comes Artery who earlier this month released Civilisation, their first album since the cult 1984 record The Second Coming. Originally formed in the industrial wastelands of Sheffield in 1978, they released three studio albums and several singles / EPs. Championed by John Peel, they recorded two … Continue reading Return Of Artery
We have posted a couple of times previously about the pulsing, krautrock inspired post-punk of The Soft Moon and were big fans of their debut album released towards the end of last year. So it is good to see they are back with a new EP titled Total Decay, which, appropriately enough gets a release on Halloween via the always excellent Captured Tracks label. Take … Continue reading New EP From The Soft Moon
The Mad Mackerel 