To find out more go to www.facebook.com/soundofguns
A brief chat with Andy Chandler (vocals/keys/sequencer), who tells us about what’s coming up for the band, why he finds it hard to listen to Skrillex and what’s up with Manchester’s music scene.
Santiago Street Machine’s ‘Shut This Down’ is now available as a free download, check it and its’ remix out here:
Romain Gavras directed the ginger genocide that was the video to M.I.A.’s ‘Born Free’, and has once again collaborated to produce a little something which I’m guessing the Saudi Arabian government won’t be endorsing.
Showing female Muslims driving cars on two wheels, partying and generally being fucking awesome badasses, this may be the coolest video of the year so far. Revolutionary.
Swedish 4-piece Pippa Marias have announced that they are to go on an indefinite hiatus. A statement from the band’s Facebook reads:
‘We are very sad to announce that Pippa Marias have “for the time being”, put things on hold. We’ve had the most amazing time over the last 2 years and we just want to say thanks to everyone that has supported us and promoted our gigs, help us with videos, photo shoots, branding, management, driving and not least all the people that have believed in us as a band and in our music (the list can be made very long). We hope we’ve left many smiles on people’s faces.’
After meeting the boys at last year’s Good Weekend festival, watching lead singer Henrik Nyblom attempt an audacious stage dive and having them critique my style of drinking, I am genuinely sad to hear this news, and hope they get back to making kickass music as soon as possible.
Here’s a taster for those unfamiliar with the Scandinavians’ synth-pop delights.
Hotly tipped to be the Vaccines of 2012, Spector have released an almost Breaking Bad-esque video for ‘Chevy Thunder’, a fast-paced and deliciously catchy ride dedicated to the ultimate symbol of Americana, the muscle car. TIGHT, TIGHT, TIGHT.
‘Chevy Thunder’ is released on 27th February on Fiction.
The cast of ‘Community’, Nick Kroll, and Adam Scott on The Soup - 12/07/11
So much awesomeness.
I don’t know about you, but I’m getting a bit sick of people saying that guitar music is dead. If that were true, then it has been the longest, most protracted death scene since Nicolas Cage in the Wicker Man. New guitar bands are popping up all over the place, and the first major release from the new kids of 2012 is here in the skinny shapes of Camdenites, Tribes and their Baby.
The first thing that hits you about Baby is its unmistakeable Britishness. Although it harks back to American grunge, Tribes haven’t let it rule their sound completely, taking bits of everything that made the 90s so great and slamming them together. Imagine Jarvis Cocker in a pair of carrot jeans and Wayfarer shades and you’re close to what Tribes are. But if that sounds like sacrilege, don’t worry, this is an album that most definitely works.
Opening with an ethereal and hollow bass riff that then explodes into life and becomes the grungey ‘Whenever’, we move into more familiar territory with current single, the absolute nostalgia-fest that is ‘We Were Children’. It’s a song that is just begging to be bawled back at them with trembling voices by a baying crowd of twenty-somethings longing for their lost days of youth, as Johnny Lloyd gives it all he’s got vocally.
‘Corner Of An English Field’ was written with a moment of real sadness in mind, an ode to the life of Ou Est Le Swimming Pool singer Charlie Haddon, a childhood friend of Lloyd. It’s powerful, emotive and anthemic, a tag that can easily be applied to many of the songs on this album, and a fitting tribute to Haddon.
Coincidentally, the peak of the album is the simply awesome Himalaya. Like a ramped-up Arcade Fire, it certainly tops the swagger charts even if Tribes aren’t the band to bring guitar music back to the mainstream airwaves. The mountainous chorus and strategically placed ‘woahhh’s ask ‘does it move ya?’ Well yes, yes it does.
After a skip through an existential puzzler in ‘Nightdriving’ (‘What use is God if you can’t see him?’), and the life-affirming ‘When My Day Comes’, unfortunately, Baby loses momentum towards the end, especially ‘Alone or With Friends’, an acoustic Don’t Look Back in Anger-lite plod-along which makes heavy use of vocal effects. Tribes are best when they’re hitting the huge glam-rock guitar riffs, and it feels somewhat like a kid left indoors while his friends are out becoming the children of the revolution.
So the question still remains, will Tribes be this year’s breakout guitar band? With an album this solid it’s a possibility, and almost certainly an early frontrunner for the end of year lists. Tribes’ Baby is a healthy, bouncing bundle of joy.
8/10
Get it from iTunes.
Just heard this indie-pop gem on Greg James’ show, for fans of Yuck, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart and bloody catchy guitar riffs. Adorable. Also, I want a Ferrari.
EDIT: Also the line, ‘I’ll swap my brother for a Pokemon card, shiny Charizard’: they’re pushing all the 90’s nostalgia buttons.
Some very interesting news here from Texas: legendary and highly influential band At the Drive-In will be making a comeback.
The news was broken on their official Twitter feed in the last hour, and will no doubt excite the old fans, and bring in some fresh ones. The band were last active in 2001, and released their last album, the highly critically acclaimed Relationship of Command, in 2000.
They split in 2001 due to frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s frustration at what he thought were the confining boundaries of their music, and Bixler-Zavala and fellow bandmate Omar Rodriguez-Lopez immediately jumped straight back into the scene, forming the Mars Volta in order to explore a more progressive rock sound.
What are your thoughts on this move? Will it be a triumphant return, or just a desperate plea for attention? Tweet me @the7up6down.
