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DiS brings you our regular new music fix, and three fresh musical DiScoveries.
Crocodiles
2009 hasn't really had enough stoner-style My Bloody Mary Chain type bands, has it? Thank God, then, for Crocodiles, who are here to fill a Wavves/Crystal Stilts/School Of Seven Bells shaped hole in the music scene. Jokes aside, Crocodiles might not be the most unique act in the world right now but they are a more polished and dancefloor-friendly version of the aforementioned. Named by No Age as one of their top tracks of last year, Crocodile's 'Neon Jesus' takes fuzzy guitars and dirty feedback and feeds it through a disco beat and fluorescent synths to create the sort of music that makes people who 'don't dance' want to cut a rug immediately. The duo (Charles Rowell and Brandon Welchez) recently released their debut album Summer Of Hate through Fat Possum (Dinosaur Jr, Andrew Bird). In nine tracks and 33 minutes it features the likes of new-wave stomp 'Soft Skull', the Cramps-esque 'Flash Of Light' and the JAMC melody thieving 'I Wanna Kill'. Some would call it a homage to the Reid brothers' Automatic single 'Head On'; others might want to see the band turned into designer handbags for their thievery. Crocodiles are currently touring their reverb-drenched dream pop across America with Holy Fuck before releasing a mouth-wateringly exciting split 7" with Pens, Graffiti Island and Dum Dum Girls Stateside. UK fans can look forward to a small run of dates next month including two in London at The Old Blue Last (July 12th) and Barden's (August 4th) with shows in Dublin and Cardiff in between. Are Crocodiles next in the line of great bands we've been lucky enough to experience this year? Or are they symptomatic of an overly saturated genre revival that we might all look back on next year and cringe? Internet debate rages over Crocodiles - why not go discover them for yourself, and see what you think. David Renshaw
July
12 London Old Blue Last
24 Brighton Freebutt
25 Sheffield The Cremorne (Tramlines)
27 Derby The Royal
28 Glasgow Stereo
31 Manchester Chorlton Irish Club
August
1 Cardiff Buffalo Bar
4 London Bardens Boudoir
Myspace.com/CrocodilesCrocodilesCrocodiles
Kong
It seems that rarely a week passes without a call being made for Manchester to return to its triumphant glory days, where one top 40 hogging local band could often be seen charting alongside another. Though the current top layer is near bare, focus the eyes on what is currently festering away below this surface and bands such as the hard hitting Kong prove that the city has much more to offer then long past it musical veterans embracing tired clichés. Intent on etching a long lasting impression on everyone’s mind, Kong are a band it’s difficult to remain indifferent too. Made up of ex-members of Oceansize and Fi-Lo Radio, they mix noisy math rock tendencies with abrasive stoner-rock tinged riffs - a formula which is rich on previous single ‘Leather Penny’, where they emit a heavy occasionally sludgy sound over precise rhythms that will have fans of mclusky, The Jesus Lizard and Shellac pining for more. With the release of album Snake Magnet on the horizon and having already built up a fierce live reputation, partly through playing many gigs with Future Of The Left and touring with Nine Black Alps, they take their uniformic red clothes and clear face masks to venues across the UK in July. Nathan Westley
July
15 Preston Mad Ferrit
16 Manchester Ruby Lounge
17 Cardiff Buffalo Bar
18 London The Macbeth
19 Brighton Freebutt
22 Birmingham The Flapper
23 Nottingham The Chameleon
24 Leeds Brudenell Social Club
25 Aberdeen The Tunnels
26 Glasgow Nice & Sleazy
You Animals
Derby six-piece You Animals are a bright and breezy breath of fresh air amongst what is increasingly becoming a fairly stagnant and predictable UK indie-flavoured pop scene. Hailing from the not-so-idyllic or musically proficient backwater of Derby, the six-piece eschew an underlying energy to both transfix and entertain via their mesmerising live performances, and soon-to-be-released debut single, 'Halfway To Heartbreak'. Look closely and the members of You Animals may be vaguely familiar to those of you with a good memory, for in a previous lifetime under the guise of Komakino they helped create a little piece of history for a certain record label not exactly DiSassociated with this very website. However, their only concern is the present, and with an armoury songs such as the aforementioned single, 'Theme From You Animals' and future 45 in waiting 'Your Own Worst Enemy', their sprightly three-minute punk-orientated compositions look set to make "pop" a by-word for all things exciting and entertaining rather than dull and dreary. Their recent double billing at last month's Great Escape brought both the Freebutt and the Honeyclub to its knees, while next month sees them embark on their biggest headline tour to date. You Animals are:- Ryan Needham (vocals), Stuart Samuels (guitars), Martin Samuels (guitars), Mark Stone (drums), Liza Violet (keyboards), and Matthew Spalding (bass). Dom Gourlay
'Halfway To Heartbreak' released on Monday July 13th by Fear And Records.
July
1 Nottingham Bodega
2 Birmingham Flapper & Firkin
3 York City Screen
4 Leeds Cockpit
6 Glasgow King Tuts
7 Edinburgh Cabaret Voltaire
8 Newcastle Academy 2
10 Liverpool Barfly
11 Middlesborough Uncle Alberts
13 London Old Blue Last
14 Southampton Talking Heads
15 Bristol Lousiana
16 Cambridge Portland Arms
17 Derby Old Bell
25 Blackburn Live Lounge
DiScover live listings
Sheffield DiSsers Facebook group | Manchester DiSsers Facebook group
July
8 Sheffield The Harley - Here We Go Magic
9 Manchester The Deaf Institute - Maps / The Phenomenal Handclap Band / Jupiters Heroes
24 Sheffield Tramlines The Harley - Errors / Maps / Munch Munch / Navvy
October
12 Sheffield The Harley - Johnny Foreigner
13 Manchester The Deaf Institute - Johnny Foreigner
