DiScover Monthly: March 2008

Another month, more new music on MySpace pages, absorbed by the DiS ranks. Here is a selection of new bands we’ve been enjoying across the Easter bank holiday, and throughout the month of March.

I Concur
Leeds four-piece I Concur are probably one of the most aptly named bands on the circuit at the minute. Why? Because their existence came about thanks to a shared love of late 1980s noise-layered rock and recent stateside thinking-man’s material such as The National and The Stills. However, one listen to main songwriter Tim Hann’s elicit haunting vocal coupled with lyrical themes that could only be borne out of cold, northern English existentialism and the realisation hits home that I Concur’s true spirit lies much closer to home. Their self-released debut EP already had DiS purring last summer, its four tracks ranging from softly-spoken, disparaging beauty to epic walls of sound about the extinction of pre-historic reptiles. Current single ’Lucky Jack’ stretches the palate a touch further, drawing in layer-upon-layer of reverb-infused guitar over haunting Interpol-esque vocals. With a live show that is becoming increasingly more dynamic with every performance, I Concur look set to be the next big piece of Leeds’ seemingly never-ending musical jigsaw earmarked for success. Dom Gourlay
MySpace
Photo: Kevin Petch

Friends Of The Bride
Friends Of The Bride are neat and tidy sorts, a visual rarity in days when watching an indie-rock band almost certainly means getting a face-full of sweaty jeans and tight-fit tees. You could take them home to mother, and she’d be impressed. And that’s without hearing the music. On topic: it’s sing-along friendly jangle pop from a bygone era, comparable to the much-hyped Glasvegas in terms of root but entirely different of execution. A single, ‘You Can’t Take Him Anywhere’, was released t’other week through Brainlove Records. ‘Nu-croon’ is one categorisation that’s come their way, but DiS’s suggestion is you make up your own mind on the stylistic front by clicking to MySpace. One certainty: you probably won’t see a better-dressed band this year. Mike Diver
MySpace
Photo: Richard Williams

Lakes
Hailing from Canterbury, four-piece Lakes have already attracted DiS’s attention with a self-titled EP and a split with Brighton’s Zettasaur (review), both released last year via Signature Tune. Their melodic hardcore with a twist – think Hot Water Music or Planes Mistake For Stars given a lesson in Q And Not U eccentricities and Tim Kinsella intricacies – is engrossing stuff, especially live, while their occasional parallels with the mighty Shellac are only to their benefit. Catch them in the flesh at this Saturday’s DiScover Club (March 29), along with Who Owns Death TV and Beestung Lips (details). Mike Diver
MySpace

Kim Ki O
Regardless of your vitamin intake, daily rowing routines or five-a-day, it seems safe to assume there is not enough Turkish riot grrrl in your life. Ekin Sanac and Berna Gol make up Istanbul DIY outfit Kim Ki O and have just released Digerleri Nerde? (Where Are The Others? for those ill-informed non-Turkish tongued readers) as the follow-up to 2007’s En Az Iki, En Falza Sekiz, and with its turgid basslines and synth-pop backdrops sounds like Bikini Kill taking the piss out of the Human League. Rippin’, eh? The pair can be seen supporting Göteborg crooner Jens Lekman on his upcoming European tour. Samuel Strang
MySpace

Le Tetsuo
Lots of bands pick up on Pixies’ anthemic qualities but few can get close to the sheer fecking lunacy of their barking boy-girl dynamics and that’s precisely where Norwich trio Le Tetsuo excel. “I used to imagine what you looked like when you were FUCKING” wails pint-sized banshee Charlotte on ‘DogBitch’, displaying a savage wit that puts us right in the mood for busting some old Mclusky records over our heads in sheer elation. An excellent roll in the mud. Le Tetsuo have an EP, Your Elbow, out on April 7 on Parlour Recordings. Alex Denney
MySpace

Don’t neglect the check out our weekly DiScover interviews proper – this week it’s Kyte, with future interviews focusing on Dels, This Will Destroy You and Freeblood.