John's Selections:
I Wanna Stay Away - The Black Tambourines
From Falmouth in Cornwall they are a garage band with plenty of noise going on. I like it.
Told You So - Cub Sport
I hate to say I told you so but I just happened to write a song saying that, many times. As this is coming from an Australian band who had to change their name from Cub Scouts following a legal dispute with Scouts Australia you get the feeling it was karma - they wrote the song in 2012 and changed their name in 2013. Funnily enough they'd never been in the scouts.
White Heels - Modern Pleasure
Modern Pleasure hail from Leeds and I've had them on my New Music playlist for a while, waiting for the chance to share. Their other track Messina has had a lot more plays.
Love Of An Orchestra - Noah And The Whale
Early material from Noah and the Whale and certainly not Neil's kind of music (sorry) but having heard it in my local chain pub I though Chris might like it.
Boys That Sing - Viola Beach
Viola Beach are a band that sadly came to fame in February as they died in a car crash along with their manager. They had a hit following their deaths with Swings and Waterslides. This is maybe the lesser know single that reach number 27.
Chris's Selections:
Karma Seeker – VANT – Karma Seeker (Single)
I don’t know much about VANT – they are London based and started out in 2013. I don’t think they have any albums out yet, just a few singles to their name. I’m not sure how I came across this – I was probably listening to ‘Rock’ new releases. It’s a good track, but not game changing or anything.
Watching the Waiting – Wye Oak – Tween
Wye Oak are an Indie-folk group from Baltimore. This song is taken from their recent album Tween. I really like it. I’m a sucker for songs with a simple drum beat on each beat of the bar, reinforced with a bass note. This just has a lovely floaty feel to it too – great airy vocals and simple atmospheric backing. Mumford and Sons with a less angst-ridden and female vocal?
Dancehall Domine – The New Pornographers – Brill Bruisers
I suspect that this was played on the ‘Alternative’ radio station on Apple Music, which I’ve started to listening to more now that I’ve upped my data plan and can listen to streaming music on the go. Maybe it reminds me of Primal Scream, but they have so many guises that that doesn’t really say much about it. Oh – they’re Canadian. This single is from their latest album which was released two years ago.
Avalanche – Bad Sounds – Avalanche Single
Bath-based apparently, and fairly new on the scene with little else released (one other single as far as I can tell). How to describe this? Apparently it’s 70s influenced but heading in a Brit Pop direction. I think it’s a great sound with all sorts going on. I wish them success.
Called you Queen – Hayley Bonar
I fell instantly in love with one of Hayley Bonar’s previous tracks having heard it on 6 music and putting on a travel themed CD for our CD consortium. She has recently had a new album out, and this track is fairly representative of the kind of stuff she produces. I have previously compared her sound with that of The Bangles, and I think that stands.
Neil's Selections:
Prophets of Rage by Prophets of Rage
I'm generally disappointed by supergroups as they never seem to better the sum of their parts, but when you put Tom Morello's guitar and Brad Wilks' drums (both from Rage Against the Machine) together with Chuck D's and B-Real's voice (Public Enemy and Cypress Hill respectively) then you know you're onto something good. I know any resulting album will probably be rubbish, but this song is perfect for me.
Big Cat by Wild Beasts
I've been a fan of Wild Beasts for a while, and I implore anyone who ever gets chance to see them live to do just that - they are great entertainers. I can't quite believe that the band are onto their fifth album, Big Cat is the second single.
Fill in the Blank by Car Seat Headrest
Another band on their umpteenth album but one I have only just been introduced to, courtesy of Steve Lamacq. Fans of American slacker rock will enjoy this, I think it's very reminiscent of Beck, or the Strokes.
No Matter Where We Go by Whitney
Don't know much about this band/person (suppose I should do a Google search) but I love the retro cool feel of the song. Think Unknown Mortal Orchestra or Tame Impala, but with a 70s arrangement. Nice summer cruising song.
Pit Pony by She Drew the Gun
I can't complete a months' selection without including some female-fronted indie rock outfit. It was either these, or The Kills, or Honeyblood's new single, but this won out primarily because I could include the others in a future selection.
