Articles
athomas has written the following articles:
Benny Benassi - Satisfaction
The first time I heard this, several months ago, was quite by accident when Judge Jules invaded my bedroom on a Friday night. Not being a regular to his Friday night Radio 1 show my first reaction was to flick the switch over to "CD" and listen to another of the demos sat in my review pile. But as I re»
God Love You For a Liar (formerly Plastik) - CCTV
Some people on DiS hate this band whilst others love them. This is obviously a very good thing because getting any reaction when you're an unsigned band trying to get media attention is better than total indifference. Luckily for Plastik I fall in the 'love' camp so that's a double bonus.
The»
Zea - Experience Of Trouble
Coming at you on blue vinyl with a Wurlitzer-friendly huge hole in the middle (spindle adapters at the ready) this is by far the most indie thing I've seen all year. Nevermind the lo-fi hand-scribbled artwork on the cover. Anyway, Zea are two guys from the Netherlands who like to play their guitars fran»
Shard - Wished and then Kissed
Shard tell me that their sound is "best captured on tracks 1 and 6", which leaves me wondering why they shoved four tracks between the two. If only to compound my confusion they also only name the two "best" tracks and leave me none the wiser on the rest. Should I have not grasped how impo»
Alyssa's Wish - Opal
An Aberdeen based three piece, Alyssa's Wish met on a "youth scheme" some four years ago and since then have been taking their melodic guitar rock to crowds as far flung as Belarous in Russia. Support slots with Capdown and Tribute To Nothing have no doubt helped them acquire some sort»
Jet Johnson - Donnie
Donny Osmond clearly made an impression on a certain generation, However, this has to be the first song I've heard dedicated to said little boy. Jet Johnson can probably get away with this though, being as they are a "supergroup" of sorts - featuring members of Reynolds, Peachfuzz and »
Chet - Born Scowling
This demo came with no biog or press release. Feeling in a more than usually generous mood I decided to hit their website for further info. All I got was several pictures of sick, or people being sick, accompanied by precious little more information than came on the scrap of paper that accompanied the CD. What I did»
DJ Chrome - Who's Crying Now
Looking at the artwork on this CD reveals several things.
1.
Perfecto are a label with identity. Perfecto are proud
to be home to chart friendly dance music. Perfecto are a specialist,
they are not about to diversify into stadium rock of dinner party
music to maximise profit.
2.
Perfe»
Jim Bob - Goodnight Jim Bob
He of nineties-powered bedsit pop duo Carter USM, and more recently of Jim's Super Stereoworld, returns with a CD that shows a vague change in direction whilst unmistakably retaining the trademarks for which he's famous for. Why is he back under his original moniker? Perhaps an admission that the»
Delta Saint - Demo
Manchester trio, Delta Saint, make much of the fact they supported the abominable Katastrophe Wife at a London Ladyfest event earlier this year. Thankfully just a few seconds into this CD it becomes apparent that this female fronted gang are quite some way from the atonal leanings of Bjelland's gro»
Tiny Blue Children - Wide Eyed Ideas
The second CD I've received from this Birmingham based five-piece, 'Wide Eyed Ideas' showcases the group over six tracks and really isn't too bad.
The opening track sets the mood, a well honed rock track with powerful soaring vocals and a chiming guitar line. By the time we hit the chorus someone»
Melanie C - On The Horizon
The artist previously known as Talented Spice returns to the charts with what every playlist setter and plugger in the UK must be calling a "radio single". Could it be the breezy atmosphere, the clean cut guitars, the occasional parping brass, and the optimistic lyrics ("all I see is love, swee»
Shed Seven - Where Have You Been Tonight? Live
I could lead this article telling you the whole history of Shed Seven. I could tell you that this seemingly unimportant britpop footnote of a band have sold close to a million albums in their nine year history. That they were the first "indie" band to break the taboo of appearing on kids telly t»
Kid Samson - Beast With A Billion Eyes
When bands try to add samples and effects to their demos it's usually an unpleasantly-messy affair. Kid Samson, however, kick against this trend presenting three tracks of unrelenting quirky guitar pop backed by synthetic swooshes, robot vocals, drum loops and what sounds like in-game music on a Commodore»
Orko (Northampton) - 2003 Demo
Emo has become a dirty word in recent times. Pre-Strokes the NME thought you were cool if you cried about your girlfriend dumping you over loud angry guitars. Still, even if Hundred Reasons didn't quite make the impact people (not least their label) had hoped for, "emotional hardcore" app»
Neon Sounds - Forbidden Fruit
A five piece from Bolton, Neon Sounds present a canny mix of Ben Folds piano and scratchy garage guitars. Lead track, 'Forbidden Fruit', comes across like something from a lo-fi musical. Dramatic hammering piano chords rise and dive as the vocals waver above. The guitar sounds ill, so trebly if »
Tomcraft - Loneliness
So I'm sat in my office typing away, headphones on, and suddenly I hear the start of something I like. A saw-wave alternating octave note pattern starts (one for the techies there) and I'm thinking disco. Then the pattern locks into a sinister repeating loop, all dark and edgy. Then the drums, not four to floor but cla»
London 86 - Changes
London 86 are from Germany and, somewhat functionally, named themselves after their primary influence. Having existed in some form or other for eight years 'Changes' is the sound of a band doing something not very exciting exceptionally well.
How exactly can a capital city and two digits i»I Own Kings, Shards at London Bull and Gate, Wed 09 Apr
8:30 prompt and Shards are playing to the standard six people in this premier London toilet. The Cambridge four piece, however, seem unfazed and launch into an energetic set of canny indierock. Tracks such as 'Skylover Baby' and 'Lose The Fear' are glossy tunes with catchy hooks and some dyn»
Synko - Crustacean Fixation
The strangest bands come out of Lancaster and Synko are no exception. Featuring a mounted lobster on a swing on the front cover suggests that this particular five piece have no issues with being taken less than seriously. Carol, Ross, Frazer, John, and Nathan are having fun, coming across as a ska-free re»
The Star Spangles - Stay Away From Me
I saw the Star Spangles not so long ago supporting Idlewild and they didn't mean much to me then. 'Stay Away From Me' doesn't help their cause. Rudimentary 1978 punk guitars and authentic Strokes-alike production sees them come across as akin to the sixteenth track on a local bands c»
Logan [defunct] - Love, Said Gas
The first release by Psychotica Records, a very small Italian indie who appear to like noise, Logan's debut is a clash of shouty ATDI style presentation and heavily accented English vocals. Opening track, 'No Tools Part 1', sets the mood with its choppy guitar line, stuttering drums, and»
Corkskrew - Micromania
A powerpop four-piece from Malta, Corkskrew cite everyone from Garbage to Kraftwerk in their list of influences. They're a big hit on their native island, where radio has put their various singles to the top of the airplay charts. Being a big band on a small island also appears to pay divide»
<209> - Take Me I'm Yours
Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you a new rap/metal band who make Crazytown look as credible as NOFX. If <209> were any more manufactured they'd come stamped with an expiry date. The press release presents six guys with nicknames picked out of the Avril Lavigne book of pu»
50Hz at London Camden Lock 17/Dingwalls, Thu 06 Mar
It's a bit quiet tonight as the small crowd, still shell shocked by some horrific Toploader sound-alikes, bring themselves towards the stage as 50hz launch into their set. Part Muse, part Mansun, with a singer who invokes the spirit of Brett Anderson '96 this four piece appear to have all»
The Boy Least Likely To - Demo
Please welcome the new Badly Drawn Boy, except with a handful of Teenage Fanclub chord progressions and some kitsch synths. Track 1, Papercuts, nods along nicely, the acoustic strum rhythm built upon by the aforementioned blips and bloops and some sweet vocals. "I've always been in l»
Ricky - Sunset View
Ricky are a four piece who clearly believe in the phrase "classic songwriting". Having spent the past year on tour with bands including The Bluetones and The Crescent it's unsurprising that 'Sunset View' is a cheery little sixties inspired indie rock tune. We're talking the »
Ciccone, MC Larrs at London Metro, Fri 21 Feb
In the neon lit cellar bar that is Metro's a chunky twenty-something American is bouncing around and rapping to the beats coming out of his laptop. This is MC Larrs, an exchange student at Oxford who believes in the power of rhyme and wearing baseball caps. He's actually quite good, less intense than E»
Looner - thefirstfive
I don't know a great deal about Looner. With no biog or press release I can't regale you with the usual insights and potential slights. I could probably visit their website but it seems an awful effort. Well, at least they sent me a "crack and peel super permanent" sticker of their low im»
Coast - Safety
Straight outta Hampshire come indierock boys Coast. With rock guitars and Mansun leanings, this five track cd is a well rounded introduction to their sound. Opening with, 'Safety', it's standard rock fare, though with a distinct nasal vocal. Reminds me of playing britpop mix tapes in my ca»