The Recordings of The Middle East

The Middle East are a seven-piece band from Townsville, Australia. They formed in 2005 and have been justifying the hype behind them pretty much ever since. The Recordings of The Middle East was released in 2008 in Australia but was re-released in UK in March this year. This is a very special band and they are god enough to have performed alongside Doves and Grizzly Bear. They have also been named by Marcus Mumford as the most inspiring new band around, which is high praise indeed. The instruments that are present on this EP are electric and acoustic guitars, hand percussion, drums, trumpet, piano and glockenspiel amongst others. The genre of the band is very hard to classify, they are listed as indie on their MySpace page but there are definitely elements of folk, pop, post rock, country and ambience present.

The EP starts off with The Darkest Side. This song includes lyrics that really make you think; “If I died on my bedroom floor/Would you cry on your bedroom floor?/And tattoo my name underneath your arm.” When you listen to it, you feel like your heart is being tickled along with the tickling of the guitar. This song seems the most sure of what genre it is, not fluctuating like other tracks on the EP, it sticks to and indie-folk feel throughout its five minutes of twinkling scenic lushness. My favourite song is probably Blood, but it is a hard decision to make. The song Blood has been the base for most of the hype behind The Middle East and when I listen to it I can’t help but feel like lying in a meadow in the middle of July, clichéd as it may be this seems like the perfect setting to listen to this song. Despite lyrics like; “With that ugly, terrible thing/Those papers for divorce/And a lonely ring,” this song gives off a rather happy feel to it and there is a beautiful mix between the lead singer’s calm voice and a high female harmony. The simplicity of the whistling and the glockenspiel work amazingly well together and the song is allowed to slowly build into a beautiful raging thing. More of the intimate intensity and beautifully complex harmonies are present throughout the rest of this EP as well as the orchestral indie pop blending with the earthy effortlessness of modern indie folk.

Overall this is a brilliant album and is perfect for when you’re just sitting in your room and what to get away from everything. All of the lyrics are cleverly and carefully chosen making whatever is being described as vivid as possible. Also, I think of Antlers’ great album Hospice of last year. The Middle East appeal to a very wide audience because their genre is so unspecific, this genre is also not original but they are better than most other bands that are trying to make it. This debut EP from self confessed “small town folks” is filled with other worldly charm and is one of the finest you are likely to hear. Look out for this band in the future as they are destined for greatness and they may have to retract that previous statement.

http://rhythmcircus.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=328:the-middle-east-the-recordings-of-the-middle-east&catid=48:cd-reviews&Itemid=124

Villagers - Becoming a Jackall

Villagers - Becoming a Jackal
Release Date: 24th May 2010
Label: Domino

1. I Saw The Dead
2. Becoming A Jackal
3. Ship Of Promises
4. Meaning Of The Ritual
5. Home6. That Day
7. Pact (I'll Be Your Fever)
8. Set The Tigers Free
9. Twenty-Seven Strangers
10. Pieces
11. To Be Counted Among Men

This may be quite a gross generalisation but pretty much all records that are produced by Domino have a certain level of quality. 'Becoming a Jackal' is no exception from that. Domino have released a number of high quality albums over the last year; Volume Two by She & Him, Heartland by Owen Pallett and Boys Outside by Steve Mason. They are a label that can spot talent a mile off, and Conor O'Brien who is 'Villagers' most certainly is talented, playing all the instruments you hear throughout the album. His amazingly well crafted lyrics are those of someone who possesses far more experience than the young Irishman does. People have likened him to Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst but the only proof of this is the occasional acoustic number. This comparison seems pretty lazy and just based on the fact that they share a first name and make sort of folky music. If anything Conor O'Brien is far more like Arcade Fire, but in other words, he is very good. Although this album seems very layered at times with conventional indie guitars and quieter folky elements, when it is stripped down it seems the most effective. On 'Meaning of the Ritual' and 'Home' the gently strummed acoustic guitar relies and focuses on vocal harmonies, and for me this is the high point of the album.


There is no point spoiling all the images that are weaved by Conor in this album as it is much better experienced aurally. There have only been a few memorable debuts this year but 'Becoming a Jackal' has changed that, and we are left thinking how on earth do Domino do it?

Wild Nothing - Gemini

Wild Nothing - Gemini
Release Date: March 25th 2010
Label: Captured Tracks

1.  Live in Dreams
2.  Summer Holiday
3.  Drifter
4.  Pessimist
5.  O, Lilac
6.  Bored Games
7.  Confirmation
8.  My Angel Lonely
9.  The Witching Hour
10. Chinatown
11. Our Composition Book
12. Gemini


Here is the debut from Jack Tatum aka Wild Nothing. This blissed out, shoegaze, US Indie Pop record has come out just in time for summer and will leave you in awe of the mastery of it. Wild Nothing's first track was a memorable cover of Kate Bush's 'Cloudbusting'. He managed to take a forgotten 80s bubblegam track and turn it into a dreamy massage of soothing heartbreak. 


Gemini is an album that is as crushingly beautiful as it is inspiring. The trasnsparrent guitars are so washed out that they are barely audible, and they conjur up images of blurred neon lights in the rain.  Gemini starts of with 'Live in Dreams' which acts as the front of house; welcoming you in, and chances are you will find it hard to resist as Jack tells us that "our lips won't last forever". This song and the rest of the album are bursting at the seams with hovering, gorgeous sound effects. Drifter is another song that takes you off to somewhere than can only exist in your dreams, conjurring up heavenly paradise like sounds. Second to last on the album comes the song ‘Our Composition Book’, which is a glamorous, picture-perfect pop song complete with shimmering sounds and some excellent guitar playing by guess who...Jack Tatum himself.

"I've reached a point in my life where I'm expected to be an adult, but I feel the same as I did at 17. I never want to forget the things I've loved in my life, or how it feels to be young and carefree" - Jack Tatum

The album is a very refreshing listen, with all of the songs being drenched in spaced out, glamorous shoegaze-ambient sounds. This sound is fairly alike other new bands that are coming out of America at the moment, such as Warpaint and Pure Ecstasy. Another band that these guys remind me of is The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. I really recommend this album as one to have on while your sunbathing or just sitting up in your room. It is one where you can fully immerse yourself and lose your trail of thought completely.

Freelance Whales - Weathervanes

Having formed in 2008 it has taken Freelance Whales 2 years to craft their debut album, but even on first listen you can see that the time has paid off as each song seems like a classic. The amazing arrangements of anything they could get their hands on, such as banjo, cello, synths, glockenspiel and a waterphone (whatever that is). Weathervanes seems so familiar, like the album you have been looking for for ages. Some of the lyrics are nonseniscial 'Every now and then she offers me a lemon now or later' but are still evocative enough to avoid being throwaway. Their tunes are catchy and album opener 'Generator ^ First Floor' and 'Hannah' can and will get stuck in your head. Your insulin will definitely have a hard time breaking down the excessive levels of sweetness throughout but Weathervanes still thrives as beautifully performed orchestral pop. Although this is about as cutesy and poppy as my music taste goes you still have to appreciate the consciensous songwriting craftsmenship. These guys are a great band and I expect a lot more to come. They are playing a few festivals over the summer and I am going to see them at Truck in which they will no doubt impress. I'm now off to listen to Iron Maiden for the rest of the evening to tame my soaring levels of pop and self loving.

Slaraffenland - We're On Your Side

Slaraffenland are a Danish 5-piece who mix post-rock with jazz, folk and pop elements into a sound that comes across as rather excellent in my mind. Their third album was released in the summer of 2009 but is still building momentum and only now starting to gain the recognition it deserves. They are also getting slighty more mainstream acknowledgement as theier label were interviwed on Huw Stephens' Radio 1 show two weeks ago and were spoken about a lot. What sets Slaraffenland apart from other bands of a smilar genre is that they tend to avoid easy discord and dissonance and assembles often-disjointed pieces into something downright serene, even peaceful. But it lacks the spark needed to fully ignite these ideas, to kick up the pleasantries into enlivened flames. This is only their second release to feature vocals, and 'We’re On Your Side' might have benefited from continued muteness, their chants often distracting rather than adding to the atmosphere. Nonetheless this is still an album which is soothing on the ears and altough all the songs are so diverse in instrumentation and beats they all seem to posses the same kind of feel to them. This album mixes upbeat pop beats with melancholy horns and mesmerizingly beautiful chords and lyrics not perfectly but I'm sure this band have it in them, I reckon their next album might be something special.

Pomegranates - Everbody Come Outside

Pomegranates are yet another addition to the ever-increasing list of indie-tinged Christian pop acts. This is their second album and their first on new label Heist or Hit. Every so often a band comes along that does this kind of music just right, effortlessly pulling the pieces together and creating something you can’t help but enjoy . Throughout this record there's an attention to detail that rewards careful listeners. It might be the subtle introduction of a new instrument, the unexpected echo of a guitar and its subsequent ear-to-ear radiation ,a flute-and-acoustic number that doesn’t suck, or an emphatic tambourine shake to make a song that much more animated. There’s enough depth and variety here to keep you entertained after the first listen. Allegedly, 'Everybody Come Outside' is meant to be a concept album, based on the idea of a young bloke leaving home before being abducted by a time traveler, in a space ship. Sometimes the very idea of a concept album can be off-putting, and one involving time-travely funny business might turn off some potential listeners straight away. Thankfully, Pomegranates are so good that they’re able to pull it off without diving into cheese territory. My faourite song is the 13 minute closer 'I Feel Like I'm A Million Years Old'. In parts it is very minimalist and repeats the same chord over and over, it feels like a very sleepy lullabye. In theory it should be tedious but to me it feels beautifully dreamy and is a perfect wind down from the previous track. This album makes you feel summery and jolly even in the middle of the rain, cold and shapeless knitwear of winter.

You can buy the album from the Heist or Hit website. The album is truly a great one and if you're a fan of The Shins, French Kicks or The Spinto Band then I can confirm this is an album for you.

Top 5

Now seems an apporpriate time for my first TOP 5.

1. My Backwards Walk - Frightened Rabbit
2. Not Miserable - Frightened Rabbit
3. Heart and Soul - Joy Division
4. All My Friends - LCD Soundsystem
5. Bathroom Gurgle - Late of the Pier*

You may notice the distinct lack of Florence + The Machine in this list. Florence, if your reading this, don't take it personally you are still my favourite person in the world and if you wish to talk to me (oh please god do) my email adress is like-u@hotmail.co.uk.

*This song includes some of my favourite ever lyrics; "Put your hands on your waistline and move you body to the bassline and get your hands on some cheap wine and just-a move it 'til you feel fine"

Frightened Rabbit

Due to the current air traffic crisis I have been stuck on my holiday in India for an additional 6 days. During this period I have had to cut down on the use of my iPod so as not to waste the battery, a circumstance which isn't greatly recieved by myself. Over these last few days I have realised a profound flaw in the contents of my iPod. My music collection is becoming less of a collection and more of a hoard, as I am amassing music at a far greater rate than I can listen to all of it. And as my collection has grown I find it increasingly harder to choose an album or artist to listen to. I tried the shuffle function but that is unsatisfactory as a large amount of the time it plays album tracks which sound odd without the rest of the album around them. But if I do find something I like I will then be compelled to download the entire back-catalogue of sed band or artist.


An occasion where this has worked beautifully in my favour was when after a customary trawling through of my iPod I stumbled upon 'Swim Until You Can't See Land' by 'Frightened Rabbit'. It's not like I hadn't heard the song before but the brilliance of the song and the band hit me. I then decided to download the rest of their latest album 'The Winter of Mixed Drinks' of which that song comes from and their two previous albums 'Sing the Greys' and 'The Midnight Organ Fight'. This decision I have not at all regretted as all three of these albums are some of the best I've heard and I say this cautiously but I would class them as my favourite band at the moment. I only say this cautiously as I don't really believe in having a favourite band or artist as they change according to mood. It seems to me like Frightened Rabbit's music changes according to my mood and the lyrics always seem personal in some way or another. Scott Hutchinson's lyrics are ezxtraordinary and those of you who are familiar with 'The Midnight Organ Fight' will have encountered the immortal lyric "You're the shit and I'm knee deep in it".


These songs have been the soundtrack to the last few months for me, and when you hear about adults talking about having soundtracks for their childhood, I think Frightened Rabbit may be the soundtrack to mine. To be perfectly honest, I really wouldn't mind obsessively listening to more of their Scottish folk-indie mix for the next five of so years.

Ellie Goulding

Oxford O2 Academy March 26th - Primary 1 and Ellie Goulding

Last night Ellie Goulding played at the O2 Academy in Oxford with the support of Primary 1. Primary 1 are a London based band who are incredibly well defined and enviabley gorgeous. They possess a sophisticated and addictive sense of damnation rival to that of the violinist's on the Titanic. They really did set the bar high for Ellie to beat but she definietly lived up to her growing superstar status and blew away the entire crowd. The pick of the songs definitely was 'Starry Eyed' in which everyone joined in unfalterring. Hopefully we will be seeing more to come from both Primary 1 and Ellie Goulding who both possess more talent in their toe nails than a large amount of artists in the charts at the moment.  

She & Him

She & Him is an American indie folk band consisting of Zooey Deschanel of actress fame and M. Ward from Bright Eyes and Monsters of Folk. Matt and Zooey met on the set of the film The Go-Getter where they were asked to sing a duet to be played at the end credits of the film. Matt had heard Zooey sing before in the film Elf but did not realise that she also wrote her own songs, she had actually done years of home demos but was shy about becoming a big name celebrity.

"I always have loved music, ever since I was really little. I just loved to sing."

                           - Zooey Deschanel

The duo's debut album 'Volume One' was released in March 2008 featuring 10 originals and three covers (including an unlisted version of 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot'), the album is a showcase for Zooey’s pipes and Matt’s clever musical arrangements.

 

Their second album 'Volume Two' was released on March 23rd 2010. The album features backing vocals from Tilly and the Wall on 'In The Sun' and many other guest appearances on other songs. Rob Dixon comments in inthenews.co.uk, "For a partnership which many may not see as the most obvious, it works brilliantly well. Over the course of the 13 tracks there are a number of gems, while all of the songs are expertly crafted by Deschanel and effortlessly captured by Ward...The covers are also dealt with expertly and fit the overall mood of the album, which has a glistening summery – and occasionally jaunty – feel to it."

She & Him - Volume One

She & Him - Volume Two

Holiday Records

Jacob Graham from The Drums and some of his friends have started a new online indie pop record label called Holiday Records. It is very different from other record labels as every friday they give away a free mp3 or EP. The people at Holiday Records scour the internet to find the greatest new music so we don't have to.

"Holiday Records is a bunch of old friends keeping in touch by recording songs about the times we had together, and new friends writing songs about other things. Each release is like a snow globe and when you shake them something completely different --but all equally as nice-- will happen. Please join in the fun. The more the merrier!"

 

There are some real gems up for grabs on the website, I recommend you check out the website and give some of the songs a listen.

Married Life - Michael Giacchino

Married Life - Michael Giacchino

This song is from the soundtrack of Up, if you haven't seen the film then you should go out and buy the DVD. It is one of my favourite films, and this is arguably the best scene of the film, if you don't shead a tear then you are most certainly not human. The music is absolutely beatutiful and there is no need for dialogue as the music and the pictures tell the story exquisitely. The rest of the film isn't at all like this scene, it is a very light-hearted comdey which works perfectly against the tragic contrast of this scene.

Harlem - Hippies

1.   Someday Soon

2.   Friendly Ghost

3.   Spray Paint

4.   Number One

5.   Be Your Baby

6.   Gay Human Bones

7.   Torture Me

8.   Cloud Pleaser
9.   Faces
10.  Tila and I
11.  Three Legged Dog
12.  Prairie My Heart
13.  Scare You
14.  Stripper Sunset
15.  Pissed
16.  Poolside


Release Date: April 6th 2010
Label: Matador

Austin based garage rock trio Harlem follow up their 2009 debut Free Drugs with Hippies which is their first release on Matador Records. Building on the lo-fi 50s garage revival established on the previous album, Hippies is a tighter, more calculated affair with catchier riffs and singsong choruses.

According to Strangeglue the 16-track album “is a blend of cocky indie-rock and unabashedly catchy garage-melodies.” Don't just take their word for it, download it at MediaFire 

We Have Band - Divisive

This video is absolute genius, a great song to thrash your hair about to. If you don't have hair, I'm sorry

Foals - Spanish Sahara

Here is the first single from Foals' forthcoming album 'Total Life Forever'. The album is set to be released on May 10th. Apparently this album was inspired by lead singer Yanis' memory of seeing a dead dog floating in the sea.


The creepy vocals and almost nonexistent guitar build up to a huge chorus, the sound is far more mature and something very promising. In my opinion, this change has been made for the better, and I don't think it would be too far fetched to pencil Foals in as a candidate for best 2010 album. If it is...well you heard it here first.


Foals - Spanish Sahara


This whole scenario reminds me very much of The Horrors, whose comeback after their first album 'Strange House' was a surprise which ended up as one of the albums of 2010. Hopefully Foals have found themselves with this new sound and it will be here to stay. And in the wise words of Ezra Koening I leave you...'Who gives a fuck about an Oxford comma?'