Lots of tasty covers this week…
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Mountain Goats – Song For Sasha Banks
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What better way to kick off December and the countdown to Christmas with the news that BEAK> have released a charity Christmas single (Merry Xmas) Face The Future and have also shared a video for the track.
All money raised by the sale of the single goes to The National Elf Service & The Mental Elf, an online resource for mental health information – https://www.nationalelfservice.net/. Purchase the single here.
Watch / stream it below.
Hypnotically excellent Bristol trio Beak> are back with a tasty new single, Sex Music, which will be released digitally and as a 7″ single on June 9th.
This is the first taste of new music since 2015’s BEAK>/<KAEB split EP and is the first single taken from their forthcoming album.
Have a listen. It lives up to its name…
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Another bumper round-up of new releases for you this morning. From the return of The Kills to Sturgill Simpson to the always brilliant Black Mountain by way of BEAK>. Ten new tracks – enjoy!
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Audioscope is an organisation committed to raising money through music for the national homelessness charity Shelter. Since 2001, they have raised more than £23,000 for the charity, presenting the best in local, national and international independent music in the process.
Chicago experimental folk legends Califone will headline this year’s Audioscope charity festival in Oxford on Saturday 23rd November.
The day-long festival at The Jericho in Oxford also has Brighton’s nightmare pop outfit Esben and the Witch, fresh from the release of their new record Wash The Sins Not Only The Face; Thrill Jockey experimental duo Grumbling Fur and stars of the forthcoming ATP festival Thought Forms. The bill also features some of Oxford’s best new music in the form of Blessing Force founders Pet Moon, alt-folk from Salvation Bill, and nautical post-krautrock from Listing Ships. Tickets are available here.
Also available is the Audioscope album release Music for a Good Home 2 – a compilation made by Audioscope of new and exclusive tracks by 40 artists. Available via Bandcamp for a minimum purchase of £5, every penny you pay goes directly to Shelter’s work.
It features many MM faves including Wire, Ride, The Telescopes, Sennen, and Gunning for Tamar and we’ve picked out three of our favourites from The Victorian English Gentlemens Club, Beak>, and Richard Walters to stream below.
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So many new releases, so little time. Here are a few guaranteed to brighten up a Friday.
Loving this new track, Yatton from Beak> in all its hypnotic, krautrock inspired glory. From a new album due in the summer.
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In a similar vein, Arc In Round’s self-titled debut LP, being released June 26, by La Société Expéditionnaire, reflects a sensibility garnered from endless hours of studio tracking and hypnotic experimentation – think Stereolab meets Broadcast with the addition of haunting vocals. Download Hallowed here.
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A couple of tracks from Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros eagerly awaited new record Here. Listen to That’s What’s Up and Fire.
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The new Bear Driver single is called Enemy and is probably one of the most accessibly poppy moments on their debut album. It still rocks most satisfyingly with some crunchy guitar mind you.
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Paws bash out infectious garage pop-rock and new EP Misled Youth is released as a limited edition tape with a run of 250. Download the exuberant title track and order from FatCat here.
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The Tough Shits forthcoming self-titled debut promises to deliver 29 minutes of ramshackle rock so purely balls-to-the-wall you won’t know what hit you. Download Birds (Don’t Get Tired of Flying) and hear the evidence for yourself.
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Kelley Stoltz has a new 7″ single on French label Les Disques Steak. Titled Two Imaginary Girls it features songs called Caroline and Marcy. Have a listen (via Finest Kiss).
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Blasted Canyons are releasing a 12″ called 2nd Place. Taster Holy Geometry is driven by a brilliant needling guitar refrain that is guaranteed to stick with you long after the song has finished.
Download Blasted Canyons – Holy Geometry mp3 (from 2nd Place 12″)
Sun Kil Moon has released another taste from forthcoming album Among The Leaves. That Bird Has A Broken Wing might be the best so far, starkly beautiful.
Download Sun Kil Moon – That Bird Has A Broken Wing mp3 (from Among The Leaves)
Finally, we’re loving the military stomp of Michael J Epstein Memorial Library’s new track Faith In Free Part 1 from their Faith In Free EP. It comes across like a brilliantly vicious hybrid of Siouxsie & The Banshees and Sparks.
Download Michael J Epstein Memorial Library – Faith In Free Part 1 mp3 (from Faith In Free EP)
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Our usual round up of the very best of our August posts and some new tracks too. Dip in – every one a winner as they say.
Download The Cabin Dogs – High Falls mp3 (from Midnight Trail)
Invites you to kick off your boots, pour a stiff one and sit on the porch to watch the sun go down – a song for when you’re busy doing nothing as they say.
Download Spectrals – Big Baby mp3 (from Big Baby 7″)
Spritely and upbeat that melds 60s girl group fizz with Elvis Costello in an entirely good way.
Download Waters – O Holy Break Of Day mp3 (from Out In The Light)
Delicate and almost hymn-like indie rock with a sparse, raw feel.
Download Male Bonding – Tame The Sun mp3 (from Endless Now)
Excellent slice of punky power pop.
Download Forest Fire – Future Shadows mp3 (from Staring At The X)
First taster from specialists in weirded out country folk and blues doesn’t disappoint.
Download The Coasts – Handshakers mp3 (from The Coasts)
Quirky anthem that’s equal parts gritty rockabilly and punching pop.
Download Peggy Sue – Cut My Teeth mp3 (from Acrobats)
A six minute, slow brooding burn with a heavier, more viscous feel than previously.
Download Howling Owls featuring WoolfCubb – Spirits To Lift My Spirits mp3 (from Purple On Purple EP)
MM faves return with slightly more upbeat track. And we stress the slightly…
Download Blitzen Trapper – Love The Way You Walk Away mp3 (from American Goldwing)
Another top-notch slice of loose, countrified rock.
Download Beirut – The Rip Tide mp3 (from The Rip Tide)
Superb title track from new album.
Download Ganglians – Drop The Act mp3 (from Still Living)
Smoother than usual garage-psych.
Download Little Gold – Sisters & Friends mp3 (from Weird Freedom)
Easy-breezy basslines, washed-out harmonies, and powerfully mellow drumming.
Download Amen Dunes – Bedroom Drum mp3 (from Through Donkey Jaw)
Another taste of the ominous, malevolent, unique folk stylings from new album.
Download The Ettes – The Pendulum mp3 (from Wicked Will)
Beat-punk and garage sleaze with a healthy dose back porch blues swagger and fuzzed up reverb.
Download Sick Figures – Graveyard Swagger mp3 (from Two Ghosts)
Raucous, saloonish type of rock and roll evoking a dark, eerie mood.
Download The Witch And The Robot – Houdini mp3 (from Fear Of Mountains)
Wonderful blend of peculiarly British pysch-pop and acid folk accompanied by appropriately surreal lyrics.
Download Deer Tick – Miss K. mp3 (from Divine Providence)
Classic slice of bluesy, bar-room Americana from forthcoming album.
Download Ducktails – Sit Around With Ya mp3 (from Killin The Vibe 12″)
Immerse yourself in a mellow hypnotic haze.
Download Luke Temple – Ophelia mp3 (from Don’t Act Like You Don’t Care)
Chugging twang, upbeat and cajun tinged.
Download The Fresh & Onlys – I Would Not Know The Devil mp3 (from I Would Not Know The Devil 7″)
A crackerjack of garage rumble, surf harmonies and guitar jangle.
Download Colossal Gospel – I Have A Heart, I Have A Heart mp3 (from Circles)
Sublime nine minutes of fragile folk beauty that reminded us of Lambchop at their best.
Download Guadalupe Plata – Pollo Podrio mp3 (from Guadalupe Plata)
Think of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion duelling with The Dirtbombs in the Castilla La Mancha…and, er, you’ll not even be close.
Download Beak> – Welcome To The Machine mp3 (from Wish You Were Here Again)
Rigid, pulsating version of Pink Floyd classic.
Download Hypocrite in a Hippy Crypt – The Town Crazies mp3 (from Tweaker In The Park)
Personal, whimsical sometimes, slyly sinister at others, lyrically sharp lo-fi folk.
Download Woodsman – In Circles mp3 (from Mystic Places EP)
Swirling, spacey guitars, reverb washes, tribal drum patterns, vocal delays and ominous repetition mix into a mesmerising, pulsating whole.
Download The Barr Brothers – Beggar In The Morning mp3 (from The Barr Brothers)
Folky, harmony filled and gorgeous.
Download Blessed Feathers – Stinging Nettle, Honeysuckle mp3 (from From The Mouths Of The Middle Class)
A bitterly beautiful reminder of winter’s immediacy in the Midwest.
Download Something Men – Birdy Roof mp3 (from Something Men 7″)
Effortlessly channeling early Velvets rumble and the simple, but effective chord sequences of the Kingsmen into a classic garage sound.
Download Wavves – I Wanna Meet Dave Grohl mp3 (from Life Sux EP)
More lo-fi, slacker punk goodness.
And to finish off we have new tracks for you too – a chaotic, hook ridden pop gem from Oberhofer, an unsettling six minutes of astral pop from Atlas Sound, attractive indie jangle from Sweden’s Youngfuck, and the infectious pulsing rhythms and quirky imagery of Big Tree.
Download Atlas Sound – Terra Incognita mp3 (from Parallax)
Download Oberhofer – Gotta Go mp3 (from Gotta Go)
Download Youngfuck – Black Tulips mp3 (from Youngfuck 7″)
Download Big Tree – This Fall mp3 (from This New Year)
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Mojo magazine has a free cover disc this month revisiting and re-imagining some classic Pink Floyd in the shape of Return To Dark Side Of The Moon and Wish You Were Here Again.
They asked a range of contemporary artists to celebrate the forthcoming Pink Floyd album reissues by re-recording the tracks for the CD and also an exclusive version of the record that comes in a limited run of 10,000 copies.
Artists include Wolf People, Lia Ices, The Orb, The Pineapple Thief and our particular favourite Beak> and their rigid, pulsating version of Welcome To The Machine.
You can order a limited edition vinyl copy of the record here. Buy the magazine and get the cover disc at any decent newsagents, or visit their website here.
Download Beak> – Welcome To The Machine mp3 (from Wish You Were Here Again)
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