Festive and Depress-tive

Picture is awesome, but unrelated

Everyone has their favourite Christmas song. Normally these Christmas songs are classed as "guilty pleasures" (let's not get into how that's a nonsense term) because it is the general rule that the Christmas single is reserved only for silly, opportunistic novelty bands- and while it would be difficult to argue that the majority of recent Christmas songs boil down to simple marketing ploys, there are some recent offerings that have, to me, become yuletide classics.

The first- and possibly best- of these festive tunes comes from Frightened Rabbit. Some may find it odd for a band so normally buried in songs of everyday troubles, strife and heartbreak to come out with a song celebrating this, the yearly time of coming together and loving your fellow man.
Well... In a WAY they have? "It's Christmas So We'll Stop" is essentially about celebrating Christmas by not being as terrible, depressed and cruel as you are the rest of the year, certainly the saddest way of describing a seasonal get together.
However, as this is Frightened Rabbit, they handle bitterness and resentment in the most achingly beautiful way. When singer, Scott Hutchinson, yearningly asks to "let the rot stop for today, let the rot stop just for one day" you get the impression that, as sad as it may be, that really is the best Christmas present he could receive. I would kill to hear this song live.

Frightened Rabbit- It's Christmas So We'll Stop

The next, is a song that has achieved legendary status in the world of novelty Christmas hits: Last Christmas. Now as much as I embrace pop music, the original Wham version has- I think it's safe to say- aged terribly since its release (and Cascada's recent, horrific, screechy murdering of the song hasn't done much to resurrect it) and with all the song's perceived cheesiness, it's easy to forget that it is, underneath it all, a heartbreak song.
Dumped over the holidays? Being blanked by an ex? Seeing said ex with someone else? Georgie M is dealing with some depressing stuff in this song.
That's why the song needed someone like iLikeTrains to come along. The Leeds-based post rock adventurers have managed to rein in both their penchant for towering soundscapes and the song's tendency to spin into ironic-cover-version territory and deliver it how it should be. Quiet, resigned and teary-eyed. Maybe not one to get you rocking around the Christmas tree, but a truly heroic take on a yuletide classic that has fallen on hard times.



iLikeTrains- Last Christmas

No doubt I shall think of more modern Christmas classics in the run up to December 25th, and promptly post them, but I thought these two suited each other well (ie. They're both down-in-the-mouth songs about loneliness at Christmastime) so would make a nice little co-blog.

Enjoy!

British Sea Power to the People

It isn't a secret that British Sea Power are one of the best bands of the decade, having produced two of the finest albums of the noughties- as well as providing audiences with the best gigs imaginable. From wrestling matches with bears to cannons showering crowds with fake snow by way of parading on unwilling bouncer's shoulders, anything could happen at a Sea Power gig.

With this amazing unpredictability in the live arena, BSP, in my eyes, suffered slightly with the release of their last 'proper' album "Do You Like Rock Music?". Whilst the album was praised by many for being more focused and refined, to me it presented the challenge of how the band intended to trash the stage and throw each other around during whilst playing a sophisticated indie pop song.

Well, with new single, "Living is So Easy" (quite an upbeat title from the makers of "The Lonely" and "Fear of Drowning") it seems that the band have done something very unexpected indeed, by incorporating some synth-pop touches. However, this isn't a Dandy Warhols style "Oh, we wanted to make electro pop music like Duran Duran all along" needless change of genre, as the sound is still very much in the British Sea Power mould, just with an electronic shimmer that indicates the sound of a band trying new things, as opposed to a band abandoning one style for another.

You can download the new song in exchange for your e-mail address using this fancy new widget thing. I recommend that you do.



Also, as a purely geeky point, the widget features a three-legged horse. Presumably this is a reference to the quite poetic inscription on BSP's second album "Open Season" which reads "To spend our days betting on three legged horses with beautiful names". Could the band be returning to the sound of that, their cheeriest and most accessible album?

WHO KNOWS?

Get your VEG(C)

The Victorian English Gentlemen's Club are one of the most fun bands around, but then again you should already know this from their very enjoyable album "Love On An Oil Rig". You SHOULD do, though frankly, I don't think that album got the attention it deserved despite managing to combine all the fierce, edge of your seat insanity of the Pixies whilst also having a groove to it, akin to those old Wall of Sound girl groups.

The highlight of Love On an Oil Rig, for me, was the single "Parrot", which started with one of the most ominous clunking bass intros, before bursting into life as a twisted dance classic. It also featured a rather brilliant video:

The Victorian English Gentlemens Club - Parrot from This Is Fake DIY Records on Vimeo.

Well now, despite it only being a bit over a year since "Love On an Oil Rig" came out, the VEGC seem raring to go once again with new material, having put up a song for free download on This Is Fake DIY's soundcloud. The new song is the MAGNIFICENTLY titled "A Biting Wind Followed By An Occasional Drift of Snow (Was No Way To Cure A Hangover)". It's a bit more out there than the to-the-point grooves of Parrot but it's fascinating, and has just the right amount of catchiness to make you go back for repeat listens.

A Biting Wind Followed By An Occasional Drift Of Snow (Was No Way To Cure A Hangover) by thisisfakediy

(There you go!)

And you know what, as a bonus, have the bedroom version of Parrot. In all honesty, I thought the original couldn't be improved on, but then again, I didn't think of having the song played acoustically, in a bed, with vocals sung through an old phone.

For the record, I think it's only fair that every single released from now on should have a "bed-a-phone" version. Watch!

Parrot (3-in-a-bed version) from This Is Fake DIY Records on Vimeo.

Carry On Bandcamp-ing

Sorry, folks. I haven't done a blog for nearly a week. It's that whole "working" thing which has apparently become the fashion of today.

To make up for it, this blog's basically going to be a massive dump of all the ace stuff that you can find on bandcamp- one of the most prominent places on the internet for free music that isn't, y'know, "dodgy".

First, a recap of bands who have stuff on Bandcamp who I've already told you to check out.

Firstly, the ever-great Borland (I blogged bout em here) who have new EPs to download on their bandcamp (I think Quantum Woman's my favourite, though Radio Waves is perfect evening ambient music)

Then I linked to Starslinger's bandcamp. He's been interviewed by Pitchfork so that explains why he's the most popular thing on Bandcamp from Manchester- fill your face with downloads here.

Now! Some downloads I've been enjoying lately:

Mi Amo Simmy- Bandcamp


Three tracks of lovely acoustic-ness, all done on a laptop by one guy. Bear in mind that the "one guy" in question is in Day For Airstrikes (a band i adore with a fiery passion) and Pooch (which is basically Day For Popstrikes) and you can realise this is a higher class of bedroom singer/songwriter.
The songs are simple, summery and soothing, not to mention free so get on them.

Boy Genius- Bandcamp

Boy Genius deal with the simple, no-frills rock that I must admit, I don't tend to go for. Normally, if a band aren't pushing limits on hideous-sounding distortion, or providing a fey sentimentality to their rocking, then I'm not usually interested. Boy genius however, temper their butch rock ways with a likeable catchiness. And, the opening title track on the DragonKick EP contains the superbly fun singalong chorus of "I FEEL JUST LIKE AN ANIMAL DOES!"
One for fans of straight forward rocking in a Foo Fighters or late-period Ash style.

DJ A-Trak- Bandcamp

A-Trak is a pretty big deal. He DJ-ed for Kanye on his "Graduation" tour and is currently one half of the very fun Duck Sauce (they did these two party jams) and has recently embraced bandcamp as a way to circulate his latest mixtape, Dirty South Dance 2.
As one might guess, DSD2 is the sequel to 2007's Dirty South Dance. Which I still stick on on my iPod for some ace strutting music. It essentially takes rap vocals and lays them over "body-jacking" electro remixes. A very good match.

Kong of Kongs

Kong are one of the most curious bands currently on planet earth. Matching outfits, masks and relentless noise make any band worth exploring to me, and these are the three main ingredients in Kong.

Well actually no, that places too much importance on the appearance, the real three ingredients in Kong are drums, bass and guitar, all being bashed, thrashed and eventually smashed to produce a distorted, gnarled monolith of sound. Kong's use of distortion is amazing in itself, even without the fact that the riffs are hypnotic yet at no times funky or predictable. The bass alternately rumbles and squawks but never devolve into simple fuzz. All sounds at all times have teeth in a Kong song.

That might well be the most pretentious way I've described a band's sound so far here at Nice Try... but Kong are quite the oddity. But like oddities there's a perverse thrill in checking them out. Which you can do now for free.

Kong have put "Count To Nine" for free download here. What makes the song extra special, is the guest vocals from the Bronx's Matt Caughtran- who I once hugged at a gig- which adds a powerful growl to the already frighteningly heavy riffs. Delicious stuff that might make you sick.

Stream Awesome Stuff: ATP gets Internet-ional

ATP- or All Tomorrow's Parties if you want to get long-winded and acknowledge the Velvet Underground Reference- have, for some years, been the best promoters around. It's them I have to thank for two of the most awesome spectacles of live music I've ever seen (this and this) as well as the most impressive festival line-ups imaginable- Pavement's only UK festival date, need I say more?

The trouble is, because ATP concerts and festivals are so good, they get the crowds they deserve and therefore sell out. And fast. So imagine if you could hear the bands online somehow?

NPR apparently has you covered, with entire sets from ATP NY- which was on in New York earlier this month- being on their website, free to stream and download.
This is good news because, well, look at this line-up (click to enlarge).


I've been listening to Explosions in the Sky's set all morning and the audio quality is amazing. There's also sets from Sonic Youth, Kurt Vile and Girls- and I imagine many more to come (I'm praying Raekwon's set is added).

Go here to view all the sets available, then click on the artist you want to hear. Enjoy.

Punk Floyd! New These Monsters Demos

These Monsters are pretty great. They've been going since 2005, and this year released one of the most outrageous, confident and enjoyable debut albums imaginable with "Call Me Dragon" (the title track of which is damn high on my list of songs of the year).

The album manages to be luxurious and spacey whilst still having a hard, sinister rock edge, like it's being played by a prog band having their strings pulled by Black Sabbath. It was the prog aspect of their sound that really attracted me to them, so when I saw them live a few months ago on the Manchester leg of the WOLVES festival tour I was a little shocked at how primitive, raw and punchy the band's new material was.

Though, after talking to the band after their performance, it became clear that- as the songs on Call Me Dragon were written a few years ago- the band's progression wasn't as sudden or unexpected as I had thought.

But now the new sound is official, now that new demos have been premiered on the band's soundcloud page.

band practice recordings by TheseMonsters

Here they are. The fact they're demos just emphasises the grittier sound they've gone for. But now it grabs your throat rather than expands your mind. Obviously both of these are good things. Enjoy

FRESH TO ZEF!

Zefs Chasing Cara- don't even try to make sense of that name- is, amazingly, the project of just one guy. The reason why this is so surprising will become apparent when you hear him. It's rare for a band to have such complex riffs and not just devolve into pedal stomping, riff worship. Fortunately, by keeping the guitars clean and adding whirring synthesiser parts, it manages to be impressively tangled in its intrumentation but still keep a simple pop sound.

It should come as no surprise that This Town Needs Guns have come out in praise of the new ZCC EP "Kneel And You Will Lose", with both bands doing the kind of widdly riffery that math-rock dreams are made of. Zefs Chasing Cars however is a bit more relaxed than This Town... which does mean less dancefloor urges- but then again, when it comes to math-rock, there's hardly any way to dance to it without ending up twitching to awkward time signatures and basically looking demented.

You can download Kneel And You Will Lose here and I thoroughly recommend you do. Especially good for those who are dipping their toes into the world of mathy music. treat yourself.

Two Becoming One?

Just a quick post combining two things I've mentioned before. Just as I was getting excited about Starslinger and also telling you to check out the new Deerhunter video you'll never guess what has happened.

STARSLINGER REMIXED DEERHUNTER

What are the odds, eh?

Enjoy, because this is a very classy remix indeed.

Leave It To Beats

My knowledge of beats and beatmakers is like Richard Villalobos' music. Minimal.

That's not only a terrible joke that few, if any, people will enjoy, but it's also true. Whilst I can get by when talking about hip hop, I only have a small selection of favourite producers in the genre. Predictably these are mainly Stone's Throw artists (an amazing label you should check out right now) J Dilla, Madlib and (MF) DOOM with the important inclusion of Flying Lotus.

What's the point in blogging on a topic you know little about, you may ask. Well one, because I would like to know more about the genre- I'm seeing DOOM next month and hate gigs where you can't hold your own when it comes to discussing the band/artists in question. And two, because I recently found a great beats tape from a Manchester producer called Starslinger.

Starslinger wears his Dilla influence quite proudly- and why shouldn't he? Dilla's amazing- sharing J's love for sliced up samples and loose, occasionally arrhythmic drums lead by stuttering hi-hats. Though Starslinger has less futuristic synths whirring and wailing than Dilla, preferring to let the samples lead the composition.

It's all very good stuff, and if only the northern rap scene wasn't fuelled by MCs raised on speed garage, the beats would be the perfect for a local rapper to make his name with.

Anyway, you can download the album here. Enjoy, and please comment letting me know about other good producers working locally- or of any that I need in my life.

And apologies for the terrible joke at the start.

A Sufjan came

I doubt there as many singer songwriters working today, who are held as close to their fans' hearts as Sufjan Stevens. Sufjan's fans (SufFans?) have even remained devoted despite a lack of bona fide new material since 2005's Illinois. Though that may be because Illinois is one of the greatest and most touching albums of the decade.

And it's fair to say that new stuff from Stevens wouldn't come after a Chinese Democracy style wait. In the interim there was "Run, Rabbit Run", an album consisting of remixes of 2001's Enjoy Your Rabbit, and the instrumental, orchestral and- to some extents- experimental piece, "The BQE".

But now there are two new songs, from a new album, "The Age Of Adz" billed as Stevens' first collection of songs for five years. The songs are called "I walked" and "Too Much", and can be downloaded FOR FREE here.

The songs might take fans expecting "Illinois part 2" by surprise. There is a clear electronic influence and no swooning tempo changes, though Sufjan's trademark choral backing and aching voice are still left intact.

These previews really only tell us what we already knew. That "The Age of Adz" will be a very interesting release, and that it may be difficult as it follows one of the best indie/folk albums in living memory.

New Belle and Sebastian. I know, Awesome!

Belle and Sebastian are one of the best bands that Britain has ever birthed. In fact, as I stood on my tip toes near the front, waiting for them to come on stage at this year's Latitude Festival, a merrily drunk Scottish man turned to me and said "You're about to see Glasgow's answer to the Beatles". Needless to say his opinion was shared by almost all the crowd there and what followed was without doubt the best headline set I have ever seen at a festival.

One particularly special moment was when the band's second lead singer Stevie Jackson lead us all in singing along to a new song called "I'm Not Living In The Real World". It was, as expected, a cracking little tune and today B&S have released another new song, the title track to the forthcoming album "Write About Love".

Download: Belle & Sebastian- Write About Love

The song sees them carrying on down the jolly 60s pop route that they've been walking ever since "Legal Man" came out in 2000. Whilst it would be nice to hear a return to the minimal, melancholy of early albums "Tigermilk" and "If You're Feeling Sinister", that is only because we are having so much of a good thing we can afford to be picky.

I hope this band exists forever.