It’s another bountiful month for good tunes, and, as the days are getting shorter and the nights are approaching earlier, what better way to keep yourself cosy than by basking in the glowing pride of getting a dozen songs for chuff all?
All you have to do is aim your mouse on that download link, listen to these little beauties, and read about them below.
Lusine
‘Twilight’
(Ghostly)
The atmospheric rustling of Burial meets the electric instrumentation of Air meets the vocal layering and echoing of Frou Frou. If that means nothing to you, you can either delve into those three artists or start with Lusine. With over twelve records and two film scores, Lusine should be a household name to anyone who fancies himself an abstract electronic music fan. But if he’s not, don’t tell anyone about it, and start listening now. Oh, and check out those other guys too.
Beth Jeans Houghton
‘Nightswimmer’
(Static Caravan)
For her voice alone, we can imagine Beth Jeans Houghton gets compared to Sarah McLachlan or Imogen Heap on a daily basis. And for pretty much any young female singer anywhere, that should be a barometer of talent. She delivers effortless harmonies as her voice floats over a xylophone driven melody. Ethereal pop, ambient pop, call it whatever you want but just take our word for it, it sounds so damn good.
Ou Est Le Swimming Pool
‘Jackson’s Last Stand’
(Stiff Records)
UK’s Passion Pit? Not really, but that’s no bad thing. A high tempo beat with a high-calibre chest-thumping bass line and synthesizers up the ying-yang. When has good electro-pop not been welcome? You guessed it, your wish is Ou Est Le Swimming Pool’s command, summer might be over but ‘Jackson’s Last Stand’ is equipped to take autumn head on. Listen to song now, find out about band name later.
Kelpe
‘Eye Candy Bath’
(DC Recordings)
Sometimes you come across a song that can change your mood, or at least have you not worry about your mood for a while. Kelpe knows that nothing sounds better than a tabla beat… done right. And then the song takes a turn for the electric two thirds of the way in. Yeah, there’s a lot to see in an ‘Eye Candy Bath’, but no part of the song stands in the way of another. The song builds up like a slow-motion rollercoaster ride through a sonic soundscape. Now that’s a metaphor. Give it a listen, you’ll see what we mean.
Cymbals Eat Guitars
‘Transparent’
(Sister’s Den/Memphis Industries)
As unpredictable as Gordon Brown during a Libyan trade deal, CEG opens LARGE as guitars wail over a relatively mellow drum pattern. Basking in its schiziod feel, the song feels like a full length concert. With instrumental intervals, quiet bits with guitar picking and soft singing only and before you realise you’ve rested too much it draws you right back in with bombastic instrumentation. The vocals go from intimate whispering to top of your lungs screaming, and it works. Indie rock strategically pumped full of doses of steroids throughout its six minutes runtime.
Vitalic
‘Terminateur Benelux (John Lord Remix)’
(Citizen/PIAS)
Vitalic’s first singles and EPs appeared in 1996 but his debut album, ‘OK Cowboy’, appeared in 2005. What the hell took so long? Well, his debut album did. And you’ll understand when you first lay ears on the bombastic, raw techno/electro tracks Vitalic produces. ‘OK Cowboy’ was critically praised and is already regarded a classic in its genre, he has since played venues all over the world. Slow and steady wins the race.
Choir Of Young Believers
‘Next Summer’
(Ghostly)
Danish songwriter Jannis Makrigiannis will be testing the waters under the moniker Choir Of Young Believers along with a full band, but acting as the group’s main visionary. Everything about the band emits orchestral pop, be it the grandiose dramatic arrangements or the lyrics tinged with heartache and even bitter revenge. Music that recalls the no-holdsbarre orchestral hugeness that of ages past. Ahh… good times.
Micah P. Hinson
‘Runnin’Scared’
(Full Time Hobby)
Micah Hinson was born in 1981. We need to remind ourselves of this when we hear his records. Seeing him live is an almost anachronistic experience as out of the body of a twenty-eight-year-old man this voice comes out. A voice that sounds tired and hardened, as if it’s been through years of sorrow. His singing is reminiscent of the vocal stylings of Leonard Cohen or Bob Dylan, both of whom Micah covered on his latest album ‘All Dressed Up And Smelling Of Strangers’. His deep voice doesn’t always manage to hit the high notes, but it isn’t for lack of trying, that’s for sure.
2020Soundsystem
‘Sliding away’
(2020Vision)
Electronic music’s own folly is that it almost always needs to be heard live to ingest to maximum capacity. It would take an astonishingly good record to equal the feeling of your chest vibrating with every bass thump on a dance floor or festival ground. 2020Soundsystem must have known that as their band was doing live gigs well before they even had any tracks written down. Now they bring us ‘Falling’, their sophomore release. ‘Falling’ contains new tracks as well as live jam favourites ‘Psycho’ and ‘Bisco’ as if not to dispel their live performance roots, but it’s not hard to imagine when listening to these tracks that it’s note enough to hear them, if you ever get the chance, go to a gig and feel them.
Mumford And Sons
‘Sister’
(Island Records)
There’s something special about this track. As I write this text, the song is still in the studio. That’s right, the band is still recording it! We challenge you to find a more exclusive track. But ‘Sister’ may ring a bell for some fans, seeing as it’s a brand new version of a song that was previously featured as a bonus track on the band’s ultra-rare ‘Love Your Ground’ EP. The song was also preformed a capella as an encore at their iTunes Festival show at The Roundhouse. Mumford And Sons fans… you just struck gold.
The Raveonettes
‘Suicide’
(Sony Records)
“I see us as an extremely good rock ‘n’ roll band,” said Sune Rose Wagner, the male half of the Raveonettes duo, in an interview. Take note Kanye, that’s how you do vainglorious boasting… with a dash of humour. We bring you a track from their latest album and, since we would rather not try to compromise the uniqueness the Raveonettes bring by labelling it a single genre, we went to get a second opinion. Here’s what YouTube user ‘lolsockmonkey’ had to say: “Mmm. <3 Good for dancing.”
She Keeps Bees
‘Gimmie’
(Names Records)
What would a Cross Section album be like without a bit of soul, you ask? We don’t know and we’re not going to find out any time soon thanks to this excellent pairing of rough growling guitars matched with lead singer Jessica Larrabee’s strong bluesy voice. With a previous album ‘Nests’ recorded entirely at home, She Keeps Bees knows how to pack a wallop while keeping it stark. “Give it to me daddy, work me like my back ain’t got no bone.” she croons. Wow… graphic.
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