The Boy With The Thorn In His Side

the return of ladyhawke… oh happy day! pip brown aka...

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:52:44 -0500

the return of ladyhawke…

oh happy day! pip brown aka ladyhawke has finally returned to the land of living from her hibernation following her scintillating self-titled debut. the lead single was unveiled today and it goes by the name of black, white and blue. it’s taken from her forthcoming record called anxiety due out on the 27th of march via casablanca records.

black white and blue is a bit more on the rockier side than what we have heard previously but is still every bit what we’ve grown to love about ladyhawke. the soomewhat detached vocals and the ringing choruses rule the day here and with a bit more luck or promotion, we just may see ladyhawke make some inroads here in the states. here is hoping at least…

nitey nite...

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:50:00 -0500

I know. I know. Where have I been? I’ve been here. I’ve been there. I’ve been...

hit the ground like superman… It’s about bloody...

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:45:43 -0500

hit the ground like superman…

It’s about bloody time!

After 2009’s debut A Brief History Of Love, it was fair to say that The Big Pink had knocked me straight out of my socks. With tracks like Dominos and Too Young To Love, it was quite easy to fall for this duo’s charms. Two years have passed and now we’ve gotten to hear two of the band’s new songs that will be featured on their forthcoming sophomore release Future This due out in January on 4AD. The first track Stay Gold seems to be getting more love in its remixed form courtesy of Araabmusik. I chose to feature the newer of the two songs so here is Hit The Ground (Superman).

The band mellows things out a bit…for them. A simple drum loop, a descending piano chord and a vocal sample provide the backdrop for Robbie Furze’s yelps. Simple as can be and quite a change for the Pink and possibly their finest pop moment to date. This record should hopefully find them a greater audience here in the States. Hopefully…

shake, rattle and roll… Victoria Hesketh + James Ford =...

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 01:40:59 -0500

shake, rattle and roll…

Victoria Hesketh + James Ford = Shake

It’s what I’ve been waiting quite a while for. Some new material from the dimunitive diva herself, Little Boots. Hot off the presses she brings out a floor-filler destined for some banging remixes to go along with this banger of a track. Quite a departure from her 2009 debut Hands to be sure but this collabo is without a tasty warmup for what is to come on the forthcoming Little Boots record due out in early ‘12.

Much like the previous post about Factory Floor, you get the feeling that the 90s dance sounds is about to make its return in a huge way and there will be no arguments here. A classic sound reborn with a look to the future is never a bad thing. Jubilation set to syncopation rarely sounded this good.

Little Boots - SHAKE by LittleBoots

yer twistin’ my melon, man… I have to say that...

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 01:02:00 -0500

yer twistin’ my melon, man…

I have to say that it’s been a while since I’ve heard a dance track that completely blew me back in the way that Two Different Ways by Factory Floor has. Close your eyes and you would think you were dancing in the Hacienda pumped up on Ecstasy. This London trio is doing some serious damage on the ears and feet of many who pine for scintillating dance tracks that beg for some club play. Think Cabaret Voltaire meets Balearic house. After all, Simian Mobile Disco have been fighting the good fight long enough and it’s high time someone else steps up to the plate to be the next in line to save dance music. I say that Factory Floor is ready to meet that challenge.

Amazing.

Factory Floor on Facebook

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TWO DIFFERENT WAYS by Factory Floor

panic in detroit? panic on the streets of london? Let it be...

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 23:47:32 -0500

panic in detroit? panic on the streets of london?

Let it be known that Duran Duran are still the coolest band on the planet. Quite a feat for a band that made artifice into a true art form thirty years ago. It’s a shame that in all the madness regarding the blog in its previous incarnation, I didn’t get much of a chance to talk about how brilliant the latest Duran squared record was. The Mark Ronson-produced All You Need Is Now is the sound of refreshed and rejuvenated Duran Duran who at Ronson’s urging decided to go back to the future. Taking cues from their illustrious legacy and adding a modern sheen to it allowing the band to evolve gracefully.

Case in point? Check out the video for the new single Girl Panic. Not only is the song a banger but the video reminds you that Duran Duran are still masters of the medium. The first video on quite a while that actually made me watch the entire thing and not flip off to something else while listening to the song. Classic supermodels like Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer and Cindy Crawford plus the band in hilarious cameos make this promotional film a winner indeed!

in bloom… The nineties are upon us! Well to be more...

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:52:00 -0400

in bloom…

The nineties are upon us! Well to be more accurate, the late eighties circa 1988-1989 are upon us which means the return to the sunny dispositions and the psychedelia that was Madchester, baggy and of course, dreampop and shoegaze. Sulk are a young quintet that learned their lessons quite well when it comes to the music of that era. With a sound that brings to mind such luminaries such as the Verve, Ride, Primal Scream and the House of Love, Sulk are aiming to stake their claim amongst the new breed of English indie which pretty much means they will be big in England, have pockets of fans amongst the Anglophile contingent in New York and Los Angeles and be ignored throughout the rest of the US. Such is life when you are a talented rock band out of the Merrie Olde.

At any rate, Back In Bloom is the band’s new single and it’s quite a treat indeed. All the hallmarks of that hallowed indie sound are here and the beat is surely not missed. Those heavily effected, droning guitars, the booming drums and the vocals drenched in reverb but yet still fighting to break through that wall of sound. Here’s hoping we get a full-length out of these guys very soon.

Sulk on Facebook

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they’re only human… Not sure if you all remember...

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:32:56 -0400

they’re only human…

Not sure if you all remember mid-noughties English also-rans The Departure or not. They were one of those bands along with fellow great white hypes The Dead 60s, Hard-Fi and the like who were to be next of the biggest and brightest of the new wave revivalists that fell a bit short of the tier inhabited by the likes of Bloc Party and Maximo Park. Well after one virtually ignored debut record, The Depature would…depart and from the remains, we have Strangers.

Strangers is the darker-hued brainchild of ex-Departure singer David Maddox-Jones and I have to say thus far, he just may be onto something. Taking their cues from Depeche Mode, Strangers blend dark electronics with very melancholic lyrics that tied together with a very polished pop sheen as only the British can.

Here I present the band’s latest, ‘Because I’m Human’. A single-worthy track if there ever was one with a very tidy chorus. It’s the type of song that should come very easily to write for most songwriters worth their weight but yet for some reason, it doesn’t happen. I’m looking forward to hearing more gems from this trio.

Strangers on Facebook

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[STRANGERS] Because I’m Human by [STRANGERS]

will wonders ever cease… The barrage of hype surrounding...

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 01:08:52 -0400

will wonders ever cease…

The barrage of hype surrounding the new great white hopes of Svenska is coming fast and hard. It certainly appears that nothing will keep The Sound Of Arrows from infecting our brains and hearts with their scintillating brand of pop. Next up is the new single Wonders. At this rate, there’s very little to say in terms of what we have to experience here. It’s another peek into a world that only Oscar and Stefan can roam free and every breath in the rarefied air is like a perfect chorus.

Wonders simply is another from the Arrows playbook. Danceable. Incredibly catchy with a chorus that smacks you in the face and screams HOOK in case you missed it. There simply isn’t anyone writing such immediate songs right now. At least not on this level.

The Sound Of Arrows - Wonders

come together and worship… The Brits do it again. Another...

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:55:26 -0400

come together and worship…

The Brits do it again. Another quarter and another brilliant and promising young band emerges from the depths. Today it’s a quartet called Worship. A band that could be described as what Radiohead would sound like if they rediscovered OK Computer whilst continuing along the path they’ve blazed since that classic record. Very electronic and very indie. It’s the best of both worlds and fans of both camps will definitely find something to like here. The band’s debut single Heart Of Glass is out on the 21st of November but I chose to feature the track that struck a dagger into my heart first and that would be Collateral. Dark, brooding with a faint tinge of redemption and hope clawing its way to the fore. Good stuff this.

Worship on Facebook

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Worship on Myspace

Collateral by Worship

once more into the world of mirrors… It truly is a shame...

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:29:46 -0400

once more into the world of mirrors…

It truly is a shame that everything from the last iteration of the blog is pretty much lost. It is so because unless if you are one of the recently converted, you would have no idea about my love for all things Mirrors. This English ~~quartet~~ trio recently released one of the finer debut records of recent vintage earlier this year in Lights And Offerings which still gets tons of play here at Casa de Suede.

Early (good) Simple Minds. OMD. Kraftwerk. These are the bands that come to mind when you listen to Mirrors at work. Not a pastiche, mind you, but a broadening of ideas and rekindling of the hope and promise those bands gave to young bands who eschewed those geetars in favour of a long gaze into the future. A future of motorik beats and detachment. Mirrors pretty much nailed it right away.

With the recent defection of Ally Young, the band is now a trio. Sad news indeed but the band is definitely not sulking. Just the other day they premiered two brand new songs on their SoundCloud page and I dare say they are very promising indeed.

Take a listen to the caressing warmth that is Dust and the Kraftwerk-ian majesty in Shooting Stars. Simply splendid.

Dust by theworldofmirrors

Shooting Stars by theworldofmirrors

working for the weekend… It’s been well noted how...

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 00:43:45 -0400

working for the weekend…

It’s been well noted how much I adore Elizabeth Harper, the frontwoman and force behind Class Actress. She’s that hot girl from the apartment across the street who you find yourself ogling at every possible moment. That’s what people do, right? I digress… Class Actress’ debut record Rapprocher has finally made its way to the stores and right now you can check out the promotional film for Weekend.

Not much really to be said about the song itself. It’s as close to waking up in a hot sweat without the actual necessary cleanup. The voice of a siren set to a simple beat with simple synths gliding and meandering in support. Indie electro just doesn’t get any sexier than this, folks.

Weekend by Class Actress

the return of nasty nas… Anyone who has followed the...

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 00:21:52 -0400

the return of nasty nas…

Anyone who has followed the career of rap icon Nasir Jones, better known as Nas, is well aware that while talented, he also has the tendency to come up a bit short once in a while. When he’s on his game, we get classics like Illmatic, Stillmatic and God’s Son. When he’s not all there, we get…Nastradamus.

It’s often been said that Nas is at his sharpest when he takes the street-savvy braggadocio and personifies it in the form of Nasty Nas. In his new single Nasty taken from his forthcoming record tentatively titled Life Is Good, the nasty one comes off just that way. With a hellacious throwback beat provided by Salaam Remi, Nas simply goes off in a manner we’ve rarely heard from him in recent times. It’s almost if the shackles of commercial pressure, the Kelis debacle and his own legacy are no longer weighing him down and he can feel free to simply rekindle the fire that made Nas a hip-hop legend. Respect.

Nas - Nasty

jay answers the call… Haven’t written about Jay...

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 01:39:00 -0400

jay answers the call…

Haven’t written about Jay Electronica in quite some time now but the man simply does not stop working. It’s high time the man releases a full-length though. With the amount of tracks he’s put out or has been involved in over the last few years, it’s certainly enough to fill a couple of volumes. Here is Jay’s latest called Call Of Duty (Gee, like the game? Nah…). This banger features hip hop legends Mobb Deep so you know this one is legit.

This one must have been done right off the cuff at the studio when you consider the fact there is a reference to the passing of former Apple overlord Steve Jobs. Jay Electronica truly is the hardest working man in rap today.

Jay Electronica ft. Mobb Deep-“Call Of Duty: MW3” by Jay Electronica

hanging loose with the strokes… I don’t know about...

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 23:30:00 -0400

hanging loose with the strokes…

I don’t know about you but Angles, the latest record by The Strokes, is simply outstanding. Yet sadly it almost seems as if people have forgotten about it soon after the record was even released. If that’s truly the case then it’s everyone else’s loss. We know better, don’t we?

At any rate, here is the promotional film for the new single and album opener Machu Picchu. Pretty standard video showing the band when they are not on stage. Nothing terribly new to see here as you’ve seen it done before by virtually any band with a healthy degree of past success. Now go play the record and fall in love with it all over it again.

The Strokes - Machu Picchu

what did kele do… The rumours have been swirling for...

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 23:07:00 -0400

what did kele do…

The rumours have been swirling for some time now that very soon we will indeed have new material to salivate over from indie stalwarts Bloc Party. Until that day truly arises and said new music comes to fruition, we have new music from frontman Kele Okereke to vibe to. What Did I Do is a new single taken from his forthcoming Hunter EP featuring his own keyboard player Lucy Taylor on vocals. Kele may have top billing here but Lucy and her breathy but sweet vocals steal the show in this dubstep-influenced pop banger. This will do until some new Bloc Party goodness. For now.

Kele - What Did I Do? - Single by PluggedIn

Friends! I’ve made the move to Tumblr. Yes. I’ve bid...

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 22:44:39 -0400

Friends!

I’ve made the move to Tumblr. Yes. I’ve bid adieu to Wordpress, my home for almost three years due to issues beyond my control. The Boy With The Thorn In His Side has a new home and I hope you find it to be your liking. Please direct your bookmarks to the new address and very soon the billysuede.com domain will follow. Onwards and upwards…