Aa – gAame (Gigantic Music)
As the quest for attention grabbing band names get all the more competitive, here come the next in line Aa, or Big A Little a as they’re better known. But regardless of that, this album sounds like it’s going to hell in a hand blender. There’s a big dollop of shouting, a bit of Stump, primitive percussion and cheap synths all grinding into a great and surprisingly listenable mulch. For some variation they chuck other elements into the mix. There are Red Indians on Manshake and tribal drumming on New Machine, but soon the album trails off into a minimal dullness. For half an album though, these guys have come up with something disturbing and cool.
The Boggs – Forts (Gigantic Music)
After a turbulent few years, The Boggs (primarily Jason Friedman) return with a new album. It’s certainly worth the wait and has a feel of The Decemberists and Beirut about it mainly, in spirit at least. At other times, such as on Bookends it digs deep to source the spirit of pyschobilly and gives it a more cuddly edge. So I So You is the Kooks being done over by Tenpole Tudor and Melanie In The White Coat wilfully recalls the Pogues. And these are the bits that lift Forts up from being merely good to something great.
Monkey Swallows The Universe – Little Polveir (Loose)
Probably one of the best bands around currently, Monkey Swallows The Universe are back with a single which is, at least on first impressions, not as good as their previous efforts. Of course by saying that, you need to bear in mind that their other singles have been of a very high standard. Little Polveir is still really good, a delightfully jaunty tune sung by a sweet female voice, reminiscent of Frente but without the nausea.
Captain Polaroid – Other Short Stories And Better Works Of Fiction (Filthy Little Angels)
I can’t tell you a lot about Captain Polaroid, there doesn’t seem to be much out there. What he is, is a man who’s made a wonderfully lo-fi album with scratchy guitars and rudimentary keyboards that will delight the soft hearted of you. You’ll find him shambling and stumbling like early Mary Chain on When The Calendar Comes Down, buzzing with the faint hope of a tune on Just Like You and on Wintertime Ending alone with his guitar while his voice aches with sadness, all the while sounding like it’s coming through a broken radio.
The Psychotic Reaction – A Moment Of Clarity / Overdraft Blues (Seasalter Sounds)
The Psychotic Reaction are great, they allow themselves to follow their instinct and it always sounds like they don’t know what they’re going to do next until they do it. As it is, A Moment Of Clarity ends up as all over the shop organ led pop with vocals that dip in and out. It really shouldn’t work, but somehow it does. Overdraft Blues is an insane instrumental, a dying man’s drunken waltz.
As the quest for attention grabbing band names get all the more competitive, here come the next in line Aa, or Big A Little a as they’re better known. But regardless of that, this album sounds like it’s going to hell in a hand blender. There’s a big dollop of shouting, a bit of Stump, primitive percussion and cheap synths all grinding into a great and surprisingly listenable mulch. For some variation they chuck other elements into the mix. There are Red Indians on Manshake and tribal drumming on New Machine, but soon the album trails off into a minimal dullness. For half an album though, these guys have come up with something disturbing and cool.The Boggs – Forts (Gigantic Music)
After a turbulent few years, The Boggs (primarily Jason Friedman) return with a new album. It’s certainly worth the wait and has a feel of The Decemberists and Beirut about it mainly, in spirit at least. At other times, such as on Bookends it digs deep to source the spirit of pyschobilly and gives it a more cuddly edge. So I So You is the Kooks being done over by Tenpole Tudor and Melanie In The White Coat wilfully recalls the Pogues. And these are the bits that lift Forts up from being merely good to something great.
Monkey Swallows The Universe – Little Polveir (Loose)
Probably one of the best bands around currently, Monkey Swallows The Universe are back with a single which is, at least on first impressions, not as good as their previous efforts. Of course by saying that, you need to bear in mind that their other singles have been of a very high standard. Little Polveir is still really good, a delightfully jaunty tune sung by a sweet female voice, reminiscent of Frente but without the nausea.Captain Polaroid – Other Short Stories And Better Works Of Fiction (Filthy Little Angels)
I can’t tell you a lot about Captain Polaroid, there doesn’t seem to be much out there. What he is, is a man who’s made a wonderfully lo-fi album with scratchy guitars and rudimentary keyboards that will delight the soft hearted of you. You’ll find him shambling and stumbling like early Mary Chain on When The Calendar Comes Down, buzzing with the faint hope of a tune on Just Like You and on Wintertime Ending alone with his guitar while his voice aches with sadness, all the while sounding like it’s coming through a broken radio.The Psychotic Reaction – A Moment Of Clarity / Overdraft Blues (Seasalter Sounds)
The Psychotic Reaction are great, they allow themselves to follow their instinct and it always sounds like they don’t know what they’re going to do next until they do it. As it is, A Moment Of Clarity ends up as all over the shop organ led pop with vocals that dip in and out. It really shouldn’t work, but somehow it does. Overdraft Blues is an insane instrumental, a dying man’s drunken waltz.
Thanks for the review! :)
A Moment Of Clarity/Overdraft Blues will be out as a free download next week. The videos should also be ready soon.