Kestrels – There All the Time Without You
November 4, 2011 § Leave a comment
Single out now.
Free download via bandcamp.
Kestrels Facebook here.
Stan says: #Friday. Initial inspection suggests the new single by Nova Scotian trio Kestrels contains at least 15% MBV, 25% Dinosaur Jnr and 20% Ash. It’s also been argued that there may be a sprinkling of ‘Dakota’ era Stereophonics hiding in the compositional gene pool. That said there’s a constituent part far more major than any of these elements that’s hanging out on the tip of our collective brain, but unfortunately our recall facilities seem to be denying us full access this morning. We will update this post with any eureka moment should it occur but in the meantime email suggestions for unaccounted fuzzrock DNA here.
Afghan Whigs – Crazy
October 28, 2011 § Leave a comment
Taken from the album ‘1965’
Buy on iTunes here
Stan says: #Friday. #Songsthatcouldhavebeenhits. There’s been a long held view around these parts that if music consumption were half way to logical then this Afghan Whigs tune could have been half way to a classic by now and not just another for Greg Dulli enthusiasts to enjoy in their private time.
Crystal Fighters + College
October 14, 2011 § Leave a comment
‘Champion Sound’ (Clubfeet Resleeve) by Crystal Fighters
‘A Real Hero’ by College (feat. Electric Youth)
Stan says: #Friday. Join the ’80s dots between the Clubfeet remix of ‘Crystal Fighters’ single ‘Champion Sound’ (out 24th October & definitely one of our favourites by CF so far), and that track by French DJ type College that has gained so much traction (yes we know) on the back of the OST for some flick about automobiles. We suspect that both shall continue to make not infrequent guest appearances in our Friday night playlists for some time to come …
Portugal. The Man – Head Is A Flame (Cool With It)
October 7, 2011 § Leave a comment
Taken from the album ‘In The Mountain In The Cloud’
Out now on Atlantic. Buy on itunes
Stan says: #Friday. The MGMT meets Scissor Sisters meets Mott The Hoople thoughts that bounced around our brain when first listening to Portugal.The Man a few years ago started bouncing around once again when we sat down to listen to their new full length recently. But whatever and whoever they sound like, there’s no questioning the bands ambition, work ethic or willingness to go for the big hook/chorus, (no matter how ‘uncool’ that proposition might be to some), and even for those reasons alone we salute them with both hands. So if you have not yet familiarized yourself with this record and feel in need of a roadtrip, then here is your excuse … insert ‘In The Mountain In The Cloud’ into your 8 track, set the satnav destination for Palo Alto (by way of Vegas) … and engage. And no we are not sure why we said Palo Alto exactly, but stop asking questions and go there already.
The Cure – Six Different Ways
September 30, 2011 § Leave a comment
Taken from the album ‘The Head On The Door’ (Fiction).
Stan says: #Friday. As much as we like the odd track on albums like ’17 Seconds’ and ‘Faith’, it was always The Cure’s ability to throw some light into the darkness that first drew us to band. Even at our most depressed the ’17 Seconds’/’Faith’/’Pornography’ records just never seemed like truly enjoyable listening experiences, no matter how many times we tried to let them win us over. As a result (but to the surprise of many of our musical friends this morning), news that The Cure were bringing their Reflections show to the Royal Albert Hall in November ( in which they play their first three albums back to back), has not had us hunting for tickets on gumtree. We enjoy indulging in a spot of teenage misery and listening to tracks like ‘One More Time’ or ‘Homesick’ just as much as the next Stan, but we remain as likely as ever to follow them up with a dose of the unbridled pop at which The Cure have often excelled. ‘Six Different Ways’ is, in our opinion, one of The Cure’s very best pop moments.
White Sea – Mountaineer
September 23, 2011 § Leave a comment
Stan says: #Friday. Worth listening to for the hookiness that rears its head just over one minute in and sticks around for thirty seconds or so after. This is one of those pop tracks that never quite delivers in the way that we hoped it would on first listening, but still loving it’s 1988’ness either way. Perry, Gaga & co … take some notes. More on White Sea aka Morgan Kibby of M83 here
Waters – For The One
September 16, 2011 § Leave a comment
Taken from the album ‘Out In The Light’
Released 27/09/11 on Arts & Crafts/ City Slang
Preview the album via City Slang soundcloud here
Stan says: #Friday. The ex Port O’Brien mainman released this free download to the world a couple of months ago and it’s now the opening track on this forthcoming debut full length as Waters. The nautical themes may remain, but while the music of his old outfit often sounded like part of the recovery process after a hard day at sea, this sounds more like a rallying cry to fire up the men before the Kraken strikes.
‘Beat Street Strut’
September 9, 2011 § Leave a comment
New York Hot Tracks Video
Taken from the soundtrack of the motion picture (1985)
Stan says: #Friday. Sure the 80’s had its issues and we won’t go into them all right now … but once in a while you cannot help but yearn for that simpler time when even the worst of the worlds troubles could – if push really came to shove – always by solved by a good honest dance off.
Bikini – (((()))) / Diamond’s Departure (Houses Remix)
September 2, 2011 § Leave a comment
Taken from the album ‘RIPJDS’ by Bikini
Out now on Lefse Records via Bandcamp here
Stan says: #Friday. Despite presaging the end of summer in our last post the current weather in London Town is reigniting some small hope that perhaps the Hawaiian’s don’t need to be mothballed quite yet after all. The original version of this tune was always too short for our liking but the Houses remix more than makes up for it. Stoke Newington sun terraces here we come.
GRANDPA STAN 