I love, love, love Larrikin Love. Listen to this track from their blistering debut EP, and watch the video for their upcoming single, ‘Edwould’ (out in the UK, April 3), and you’ll understand why.
Larrikin Love – Six Queens
Watch ‘Edwould’ the video, here.
They sound folksy but with a slight punk edge. I read in an interview with Room Thirteen that the band hates being compared to The Libertines. That’s understandable since every band probably wants to be recognised for it’s own efforts rather than being compared to so and so. But I feel all the Pete Doherty comparisons are perfectly reasonable though. Maybe it’s their whole dandyism, romantic vibe.
I have a new obsession, and it is called Elle Milano. Young, brash art-rock/punkers from the UK, their sound has been described as “like a tempestuous marriage between Blur and Robert Smith”. What initially hits you is the loud angry vocals and splintering guitar riffs. It’s almost like hardcore punk! Took me a while to get used to them, but beneath all the noise, Elle Milano has smart lyrics that speak to the modern listener, and their songs are really quite catchy!
I also like songs with nice titles. Like so:
Elle Milano – Believe Your Own Hype Always (demo)
Elle Milano – Ringtone Advertising Director (demo)
More demos available here.
Visit the band’s Myspace.
A very comprehensive fan site, with lyrics, here.
The Strokes use to rule my world back in 2001. Raw, edgy guitar sound that I had never heard before. And they looked so totally utterly cool. No one sounded or looked like them.
Now of course, it’s different. After The Strokes came a whole slew of guitar-heavy bands. Even bands that didn’t come from New York (like Phantom Planet, the California poster boys) started to copy The Strokes in look and sound. Unfortunately for The Strokes, they started to pale in comparison to the copycats. Because they never reinvented themselves album after album; and worse, their albums never could capture the raw spontaneity of their original EP, the one that blasted them to fame.
If you want to hear what The Strokes should sound like, take a listen to The Harlem Shakes. Lo-fi garage rock that sets your feet (and heart) thumping! The rawness is all there, and they sound genuine rather than manufactured. They’ve actually been around for at least 2-3 years, but are still unsigned. But there’s starting to be a buzz about them in various music blogs, so hopefully things will change for them.
The Harlem Shakes – Disco 5000
The Harlem Shakes – Eighteen
The Harlem Shakes official site.
An interview with the band at Gothamist.
cross-posting (with additions) from the other blog because I took a very long time to write this post..
Saturday Looks Good To Me
I’ve blogged lovingly about Saturday Looks Good To Me before. With the recent release of ‘Sound On Sound’, a compilation of 30 previously limited and unavailable recordings, I’m further convinced that Fred Thomas is the Phil Spector of the Noughties. What a glorious mix of summery Sixties-inspired pop, with a dash of garage/punk. Although I generally love all their recordings, my favourites tend to be their girl-pop songs. They wouldn’t be out of place in a 60s girl group compilation.
The amazing thing about SLGTM is that the same songs might appear on vinyl and cd-versions of an album, but with different mixes or recordings. Hear the difference here (from album ‘Every Night’).
Saturday Looks Good To Me – Hiding
Saturday Looks Good To Me – Ambulance (from album ‘All Your Summer Songs’)
‘Sound On Sound’ is available at label Redder Records website.
SLGTM’s myspace page.
SLGTM bio on All Music Guide.
An interview with the band, from Sonic Zine.
Paris Motel
Another band with pretty melodies is Paris Motel, except there’s also some country influence in their sound. String chamber music influence too – violas! The most unlikely source, NME, describes them as “a beautiful slice of archaic chamber pop that lifts you somewhere sublime”, while Independent says their music is “like a bolt from the blue.. impossibly lovely”.
I think this song of theirs really is beautiful.
Paris Motel – I lost My Heart/Philippe, Phil
An interview on The Beat Surrender.
Paris Motel’s myspace page.
