The Boy With The Thorn In His Side

Perfect for Valentine’s Day or hell…any day of the year. Brooklyn’s Living Days have provided all the frustrated lovers out there with the perfect lead-off track for the mixtape to send to that special someone who most likely thinks you need to spend more time being social and less time sitting at home fretting over mixtapes. This one is called Let’s Kiss and it’s what a new wave pop song should sound like. Throw this one on and prepare to marvel at how quickly you’ll be doing the pogo in your room. If Robert Smith of The Cure had a daughter, she’d be Stephonik Youth, the singer of Living Days. The vocal resemblance is quite uncanny especially in the delivery of the chorus.

As I write this, I should inform my fellow Brooklynites that Living Days just happens to be performing Wednesday night on the first of September at the R Bar on 218 Bowery in Manhattan with fellow new wave popsters in The Dossier and The Mystic Underground. If you like the video (and you should) then it should go without saying that your attendance will be nothing short of mandatory.

Living Days on MySpace
Living Days on Facebook
Living Days on Twitter

“Let’s Kiss” by Living Days

Very little soothes the savage beast that wreaks havoc within me quite like some good old-fashioned doom pop.  Ominous synths. Shrieking guitars. Vocals that pierce the soul and strike fear in the hearts of men and women. One such band that hits the spot is one that I’ve been meaning to write about but for some reason never did. Meet San Francisco’s Veil Veil Vanish. An absolutely brilliant foursome from San Fran that simply has the dark art-rock sound that the Cure perfected and took over the world with down pat. Notice I’m steering clear from uttering a certain word that starts with the letter G that most people would use to describe this style of music. Personally I never thought the Cure shared much in common with many of these band that fit under that particular umbrella and the same rule applies here with Veil Veil Vanish. Underneath the dark overtones there lies some well-written pop with hooks to spare. The band recently released their debut record Change In the Neon Light and I would venture to say that it behooves you to give it a listen. I could see easily see this band becoming a pretty popular cult band if all things shake right in their favour. In the meantime, take a listen to Modern Lust. If this song doesn’t grab you by the collar and have you at hello then you simply don’t have ears. Trust.

Veil Veil Vanish on MySpace
Veil Veil Vanish on Facebook
Veil Veil Vanish on MySpace

“Modern Lust” by Veil Veil Vanish, from the album “Change In The Neon Light”

Let’s be honest here. How long did the whole Nu-Rave fad last? A couple of months? For my money, you had a couple of bands that “fit” the description of the genre but pretty much didn’t do much to bother the charts at all. You had The Whip (solid), Hadouken! (meh…) and of course, the unwilling torch-bearers and the most notable of them all in the Klaxons. The notoriety was well deserved as the band were able to come up with tunes to match the hype. The debut record,2007’s Myths Of The Near Future is still a favourite of mine.

So time goes on, the record gets buzzed about tons through the usual channels, they get pretty big in the UK, they become popular amongst the hipster/indie cognoscenti here in the States, open for Bjork and that’s that. There were rumblings last year that the band had completed work on the follow-up only to have it rejected by the powers that be because the songs were too far out there. So they recruit Ross Robinson… to produce the record. Ross Robinson, aka the man who brought us Korn and Limp Bizkit during the darkest days of popular music known as nu-metal. The Ross Robinson who along with Robert Smith provided with the worst Cure record of them all. Was a second record with James Ford really such a bad idea? Me thinks not.

So we have Flashover, the first serve from the Klaxons/Robinson pairing and you know what? It’s not bad as I feared it would be. It’s a more straight-forward Klaxons on steroids or HGH. The harmonies are still there. Otherwise the guitars are louder and the drums are bolder. In other words, there will be less toe-tapping and more head-banging.  Is that a bad thing? You decide.

Klaxons on MySpace
Klaxons on Facebook

“Flashover” by Klaxons

Three singles (two of them official) and a brilliant full-length record have been released to an adoring public and still we in the United States have to wait until the 15th of June to get our grubby paws on Total Life Forever. That is unless of course you found yourself unable to wait and simply downloaded the record or bought the import. Once again, it must be said that it’s high time in this day and age for the record industry to do away with separate release dates for the majority of releases once and for all.

That said, a new Foals single called Miami is here. A funky track that should definitely raise a few eyes upon the first listening. I almost thought I was listening to Robert Smith singing this track instead of Yannis Philappakis which definitely evoked a giggle. In my opinion, it is difficult to be anything less than impressed with the variety that the Foals have shown thus far. The band has grown leaps and bounds from Antidotes and if all was right with the world, Sub Pop would have a massive crossover hit record on their hands.

For more giggles, check out the video streaming now on NME.com.

“Miami” by Foals, taken from the Transgressive/Sub Pop release, “Total Life Forever”

Album – Acolyte
Artist – Delphic
Label – Polydor (UK)
Producer – Ewan Pearson

Yeah I know. A record review has been a long time coming. My new year’s resolution for 2010  is to include more record reviews for you guys. Getting my paws all over the debut record Acolyte from Delphic definitely forced my hand into ensuring I put my feelings on this record to “paper” as it were.  So with that said, let’s go!

I’ve written about Delphic, the electro-rock trio from Manchester on a couple of occasions very recently. Specifically, two of their singles which I quite liked in Counterpoint and the current single Doubt. They serve as a wonderful introduction to this highly talented band’s sound. A sound which notably finds itself very much indebted to the forefathers of dance-rock in New Order and dance culture as it evolved since. There’s elements of trance and downtempo to go along with the band’s natural predilection towards pop. All of this brings about the most important question: Does Acolyte bring the goods? Let’s take a look…

1. Clarion Call 2.56

One of the more brief songs on the record. Clarion Call starts off very softly, enticing, inviting the listener to come closer to the speaker as the vocals come in. Just when you find yourself ready to submit, the song reaches a crescendo with crashing drums with the message being demanded to the listener in the lyrics to take action in one’s own life before giving way to guitars to carry us to the end of the song. A good introduction to the record and sets us up for…

2. Doubt 4.06

For a young band worth their weight, it’s almost an imperative to stake your claim early in the way of a signature song. Delphic gets that out of the way almost immediately with Doubt. By far, the most obvious choice for a single on the record for its sing-along chorus and overall New order vibe especially with the Bernard Sumner like guitars in the bridge. The best way to describe this track would be to imagine a collaboration between New Order and Kele Okereke from Bloc Party singing. Either way, this song is truly a winner.

3. This Momentary 4.35

First off, it has to be said the video for This Momentary is a simply stellar piece of work.

The song itself is a slow burner. The vocals are reminiscent to what we heard in Clarion Call in its almost chant-like delivery as the music gathers momentum before the drums come in giving the impression that we’re about to kick into a head-pounding stomper….except there’s no stomping here.  The song settles into a nice groove that seduces and soothes. While not my favourite song on the record, it’s a mood piece that is by no means a skip over track.

4. Red Lights 6.11

“I wanna stop for red lights, I wanna come up for air…”

Another slow burner but one that comes with a payoff for those with an attention span larger than a flea.  For some reason, this song makes me think of what Friendly Fires would sound like after an extended remix. Once the song find its footing,it becomes a track that would be equally fitting for dancing at a Lower East Side lounge or barefoot in one’s room.

5. Acolyte 8.51

Ahh yes. The title track. It’s an instrumental. Depending on how you feel towards instrumentals, it can either be a good thing or a bad thing. Personally, I tend to vary on my feelings towards them. I’d be interested in hearing what could have been done on this track because the ahhs along don’t do this song justice. The song does, however, showcase the band’s talent for injecting a sense of warmth in the songs which tends to be somewhat difficult for many an electronic band.

6. Halcyon 4.43

Another favourite on the record. It’s also, in my opinion, a song worthy of single consideration. Quite possibly even more accessible than Doubt, it features a pretty nifty drum pattern in the second verse and a chorus that’s as hooky as anything found on the record. I love this track.

7. Submission 5.33

Now this is interesting! A bit of a change of pace as we find Delphic getting a bit darker in sound. The drum pattern and the pad sound scream new wave that is almost Cure/PSB like and we still hear the Sumner-like guitars appearing now and again. Too long to be considered a single, it’s also missing that big hook one looks for but it’s definitely a switch for the more colourful and vibrant tracks heard to this point and also serves as a wonderful…counterpoint to the next song which is…

8. Counterpoint 6.19

If it’s not Doubt, then it’s safe to say that this is indeed Delphic’s penultimate track. A gorgeous production that wouldn’t sound at all foreign on a Paul Van Dyk record, a plaintive vocal pleading for understanding and lamenting a lost love. The synths simply shimmer throughout in what is simply a beautiful track and a pleasure to listen to again and again. Doubt may be the band’s signature pop song in their nascent career but to me, this is where we catch a glimpse into where they are heading.

9. Ephemera 1.57

A very brief instrumental. Too brief to be anything more than a simple segue into the next track. Kind of pointless, to be perfectly frank.

10. Remain 6.34

The record closes with a light, piano-led number which allows the listener to breathe and relax.  This is Delphic gone chill-out. Not a bad thing but then the downtempo sound has admittedly never been my cuppa.

The verdict? Definitely a solid step forward for this promising Manchester group.  It’s awfully hard to write and create an electronic pop record that veers more towards the experimental side of things and still maanges to keep the listener interested and not simply filing it away only to be played for dinner parties. Delphic achieves the former much better than most on their first try.

To me, Acolyte is the sound of a band that has a lot of good ideas and did an earnest job of getting them all in to a ten song album. The pop moments are heavenly and well crafted, the more adventurous moments show the band’s talent and a will to push the envelope. As they mature, it stands to reason that Delphic will be able to mesh the two worlds of pop and experimentation with more precision and more cohesively. They’re off to a great start with a couple of great singles right off the bat. Don’t sleep on Delphic.

Here is this year’s lineup, friends. Straight from Goldenvoice. What do we think?

A decent lineup, to be sure. It’ll be interesting to note that Amy Winehouse. Who wants to bet money that she walks in and is carried out following another aborted performance. Here’s hoping it doesn’t happen as the girl has a world of talent. I’ll comment more later!

“Don’t turn around
I won’t have to look at you
And what’s not found
Is all that I see in you
My manners are failing me
I’m left feeling ugly
And you say it’s wonderful
To live with I never will”

As one develops an appreciation for music that goes beyond the average and evolves into an obsession in which the music you listened to as you were younger seems to have shaped every fabric of your being. Everything you know, everyone you came in contact with and every emotion you’ve felt is forever inextricably linked to a song, a verse, a simple chorus or even a whole record. It’s uncontrollable and it’s irrevocable. It’s also natural to have that hope that others feel the same way you do about that song or that artist and a sort of communal experience may then take shape. Oftentimes it doesn’t happen but when it does, there’s no other feeling quite like it. 

“Alive and kicking at the Country Club
We’re always sickening at the Country Club
A drive from nowhere leaves you in the cold
Refrigeration keeps you young I’m told
Alive and kicking at the Country Club
We’re old and sickening at the Country Club
Your limitations are our every care
Every breath you breath belongs to… someone there”

In the annals of pop music history, the new romantic era of the early 1980s tend to be tossed aside, disregarded with its contributions forever relegated to being a mere footnote or worse: the cut-out bin. You know the names…ABC, Japan, Spandau Ballet…I can go on. Bands that had their fleeting moments of fame but still, all in all, made indelible marks in our young, impressionable hearts and minds. One star that shined the brightest but sadly faded away were the Associates. They formed in 1979 in Scotland and were made up of mutli-instrumentalist, Alan Rankine and one of the most glorious voices we’ve heard in the last forty years in Billy McKenzie.  Theirs was a sound that could be summed up as eclectic but that wouldn’t tell the entire story. Instruments out of place, vocals recorded in a bathtub or shower. A world where anything was allowed for the sake of doing it. That was the Associates and it all came together on their hit 1982 album, Sulk,  which included their two biggest hits Party Fears Two & Club Country. 

It rarely fails but ultimately the trappings of fame and a clash over the band’s future direction in the face of said fame led to the dissolution of the Rankine/MacKenzie partnership leaving MacKenzie to carry on alone. Several albums were to follow. The first few waving the Associates flag before Billy simply using his own name.  None having the dazzle and awe-inspiring effect of Sulk save a for a couple of songs on each. There was later news of a possible reunion between Alan Rankine and Billy MacKenzie with the wheels apparently set in motion with word of demos being recorded for a possible release. Alas, it would not come to pass as MacKenzie, amid news of his mother’s passing and dealing with his own demons, would be found dead in the garden shed of the family’s home on 22 January 1997. He was 39 years old. 

To those who know of the Associates, the first thing that still tugs at the heartstrings is the emotion and naivete that resonates in Billy MacKenzie’s voice. Their time may have been brief but the influence remains. You can hear traces of Billy in singers like Andy Bell of Erasure or even Tom Chaplin from Keane. 

For a good idea of what the world is missing, no one put it better than one of Billy McKenzie’s dear friends and former peer, Robert Smith. 

“So dizzy Mr. Busy – Too much rush to talk to Billy
All the silly frilly things have to first get done
In a minute – sometime soon – maybe next time – make it June
Until later… doesn’t always come”