Later today I will go to the Polling Station to cast my vote. After the EU Referendum and the Trump debacle I go pretty much without hope or expectation but more in despair and defiance and the grim knowledge we probably have five more years of selfish, small-minded, jingoistic bullshit to lap up whilst services close, people get poorer and those that voted for Brexit insist that it is still better than it would have been…
At least I will have Eat The Evidence’s wonderful Tories Go To Waitrose playing in my earbuds as I place my cross on the paper. A wonderfully irreverent depiction of the bourgeois shopping habits of those who’ve decimated the country’s public services, it is a hilarious punk-rock takedown of the toffs at the top, delivered via propulsive skank and overdriven amphetamine pop. The track comes from the band’s upcoming album, Sex, Drugs, & Wishy-Washy Politics, produced by Sam Duckworth, aka Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.
Anyway, it reminds me of the good old days when protest songs could become vital terrace chants and people cared about each other…
We’ve been trawling through a whole mass of videos recently and here are some of our favourites assembled for your viewing and listening pleasure.
First up is Crybaby’s video for excellent debut I Cherish The Heartbreak More Than The Love That I Lost, shot in the gloomy surrounds of Bristol hospital and is a noirish loveletter to the exquisite pain of a broken heart.
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Hotly tipped Essex 4-piece The Milk’s new single Broke Up The Family is a stormer of an anthem.
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Death Hawk are new to us, and it isn’t the greatest video to be fair, but the pounding psychedelia and Sabbath like riffs of new song Shining has been a real treat and makes it worth sharing.
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By Contrast, Saint Motel’sAt Least I Have Nothing is a introspective work made up of a combination of 16mm, Super 8, Flip-Cam, Video, Cell Phone, and still photography that they’ve accumulated throughout the years. It fits the upbeat nostalgia of the song perfectly.
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Describing her sound as ‘Doom Soul’, Cold Specks’ music is steeped in the musical traditions of the Deep South. With influences from the Lomax Field Recordings and James Carr to Bill Callahan and Tom Waits, her sparse arrangements and chain gang rhythms stop you dead in your tracks.
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Hindershot make unusual, complex, catchy indie-pop that calls to mind everything from Soft Cell to T-Rex. The video for Curse Us All is a colourful one of wanton destruction.
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Brother Gruesome have featured a few times on MM and are established faves of ours. This is the video for the pounding Cut It Out, a song off their cassette tape that was released by Slanty Shanty Records in 2010. A little late coming, but it is a great song with a cool video featuring street artists from Oklahoma.
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You & I Belong is the first single from Simone Felice’s debut solo album. Another great song, fun video.
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Danish sextet Alcoholic Faith Mission has debuted a new video for Running With Insanity from new album Ask Me This. Watch it and download it.
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We take a considerably more rustic turn with Max & The Wild Things video for the excellent Wind Through The Window. Just the feel of a barn-dance stomp and that banjo lead was enough to remind me of the halcyon days of the Cropdusters.
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Popstrangers hail from New Zealand and make a most edifying racket from a cauldron of grunge, shoegaze, psychedelia and noise pop. The video for What Else Could They Do comes heartily recommended.
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We’re hoping for big things for Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves of Destiny this year. This is a live session recording for the new single Sweet Tooth Bird. Like sherbert filled with razor blades.
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Beirut have just posted a new video for Vagabond from last year’s excellent The Rip Tide.
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Sweet Lights have this beautifully animated video for Endless Town – the new single out on March 5th via Highline.
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The Skints are about as close to rap as we get, but this hybrid of rap, ragga, rock and ska beats on Ratatat is undeniably infectious. Like the Selecter crossed with Senser…maybe.
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Short is sweet, with this 90 second video for Pillow Talk’s rootsy Faux Fur, the lead track from their new EP of the same name.
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Gently harmonious five-piece Good Dangers feature a stripped back version of their song Abigail, filmed in a skate park. Download the full version too.
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And lastly, new MM faves Town Hall have produced their own unique take on Ja Rule & Ashanti’sAlways on Time. Watch it and download it.
