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DiS brings you our regular new music fix, and three fresh musical DiScoveries.
The Northwestern
Following two albums, Hope Of The States were dropped by Sony and promptly split up, much to the dismay of their humble but dedicated followers. Post-HOTS, lead singer Herlihy formed the instrumental act Troubles with three other members of the band and released an eight track EP. This much we know. However, now Herilhy and drummer Simon Jones - alongside Francesco Menegat, Jonny Winter (formerly of The Open) and Ian McCullagh - are back again with The Northwestern, this time making the most upbeat and optimistic music of their lives. Where Hope Of The States wove dark and brooding soundscapes of dense proportions informed by classic literature and mortality, The Northwestern are an altogether more illuminated prospect. The hallmarks of old are still there, from Herlihy's deep and damaged vocals to the soaring brass instrumentation but now the songs feel as if they have been injected with a sense of freedom, a weight lifted from their shoulders. The band are scheduled to release a double A side, ‘Telephones’/ ‘All The Ones’, on June 15th and will tour the country for the fortnight preceding that date. ‘All The Ones’ is our pick - a breezy melody set alongside urgent drums and classic jangly guitars; fans both past and present will fall for it instantly. Intrigued? Get a free track (‘Fire’) by signing up for the band's mailing list now via their Myspace page. David Renshaw
May
29 Winchester The Railway Inn
30 Bristol The Louisiana
31 Brighton The Freebutt
June
1 Birmingham The Flapper
2 Manchester The Roadhouse
3 Glasgow Captains Rest
4 Edinburgh Sneaky Petes
5 Leeds Faversham
6 Preston Mad Ferret
7 Nottingham Bodega
8 Southampton Hamptons
9 London 93ft East
MySpace.com/TheNorthWesternMusic
Oskar
You don't have to be a brand new band to be DiScovered; managing an 11-year career without ever so much as being mentioned on the DiS boards (er, as best as an admittedly cursory search can determine) will do ya fine. Oskar's Nick Powell and Johnny Dawe started collaborating in 1998 when they scored performance art company The Max Factory’s work Target, clearly deciding they liked each other enough to take on the name Oskar and write an album, 2004's Air Conditioning made in cahoots with cellist/vocalist Sarah Wilson. It feels a little lazy to pounce on their origins and waffle about their music being soundtrack-like, but, um, it is - you check out 'Psy' on their MySpace and tell me it doesn't sound like Michael Nyman giving post rock a shot. A typical song finds the cool, glacial canvas of Powell's quiescent piano layered in textures running the whole gamut of spine-tinging; - half heard mutters, bows of feedback, quiet, nagging distortion; second album LP2 adds a bit more breadth to their minor key core sound, notably the raucous deadpan of Wilson's Barry Adamson-style monologue on 'Some Song', while the eerie burbling of closer 'Sanatorio' is based around Powell's recordings of singing mental patients in a Spanish asylum. Which sounds kind of grim, but somehow it's actually nothing of the sort, the band's music hovering in that magic spot where melancholia blooms into sensual uplift. Andrzej Lukowski
LP2 is out June 22nd
Sad Day For Puppets
Swedish five piece Sad Day For Puppets are the latest in a long line of bands whose sound draws inspiration from the halcyon days of indie-pop circa 1986-1990. Having formed in the Swedish suburb of Blackeberg at the back end of 2006, their debut long player Unknown Colors first came to our attention late last year thanks to the endorsement of long-time fan and Television Personality Dan Treacy, and the band's subsequent signing to Sonic Cathedral shortly after. Debut single 'Marble Gods' was released over here at the beginning of 2009 to a rapturous fanfare of plaudits from numerous hacks, with their album set to be re-launched - complete with new artwork and extra - tracks next week (June 1st). Whilst comparisons have already been made with the likes of Lush, Dinosaur Jr and Swervedriver, Sad Day For Puppets are anything but mere copyists of an era that many wish would disappear into the ether once and for all. What's more, in the songwriting talents of Martin Kallholm and unique vocal stylings of Anna Eklund, SDFP look set to be the next discerning collective whose ideals purely revolve around such untoward facets as melody and song rather than the fashions of the day, and we love them all the more for it. Sad Day For Puppets are Anna Eklund (vocals), Martin Kallholm (guitars), Marcus Sandgren (guitar), Alex Svenson-Metes (bass), and Micael Back (drums). Dom Gourlay
The single 'Cherry Blossom' is out now, with album Unknown Colors released today, both via Sonic Cathedral.
DiScover live listings
Sheffield DiSsers Facebook group | Manchester DiSsers Facebook group
June
10 Sheffield The Harley - Future Of The Left / Pulled Apart By Horses / Wooderson / La Folie
July
25 Sheffield Tramlines - Errors and more TBC
