El-P - Cancer For Cure

I’d never heard of El-P before ‘The Full Retard’ showed up online and every writer on every site around lost their shit. I heard it, I loved it and I poked around for more. So it turns out El’s been running underground rap for years and now he’s back and most definitely on one. Cancer for Cure is a pissed-off record, but it’s never childish or sulky, rather it throws its arms aloft and screams its proclamations with startling clarity and purpose.

Opening with ‘Request Denied’, a hulking beast of a track that skitters between bombast and restraint, powered along by a leering beat and juddering synths, it’s probably the best representation of what’s about to come. The fact that the man himself only shows up in the closing minute-and-a-half is even better; it gives space to the beat, allowing it to flex its muscles and show off its bounty of intricacies. When El-P finally does go in, it’s hard. Not just because his verse is delivered as an unwaveringly dense layer of complex rhymes and time signatures, but also because he sounds so remorselessly righteous. His delivery is a master class in self-possession and the air of confidence he exudes is thicker than water.

Cancer for Cure is exactly what you want a rap record to sound like in 2012, with a predication for narrative-driven songs and an emphasis on exhibiting every facet of the beats. In that respect it’s miles ahead of its peers. Whilst rap as a whole is moving into a new era of self-obsession it’s positively shocking to hear one adopting a first-person perspective that isn’t their own (or an extension of their own). Its conscious rap without preachiness, you could dance or you could ponder its lyrical themes. You could do both (in fact, it wants you to do both, ‘Oh Hail No’features a Danny Brown guest spot that’s funny and word-smart, spat over a thrumming beat that shifts and clangs endlessly).

A fully-formed jolt of uninhibited rage, delivered as a sermon, a story and a lecture. Denser than an album three times its size and more opinionated than a hundred Lupe Fiasco’s, it’s easily the most enthralling record that’s come about in a very long time.

9.1

Ned Powley

Django Django - Storm

Although Edinburgh Django Django formed three years ago, their debut album was only released earlier this year, capturing the attention of fans of off-beat indie quirk pop and critics alike, many of whom count the self-titled album as one of the best of 2012 so far.  ‘Storm’ starts with an enticing, rattling drum intro which builds into beautifully odd layers of echoey, disjointed lyrics (with singer Vincent Neff’s laid back Scottish-tinged drawl) and twangy guitars.  The song sounds wonky, but that’s the band’s charm, their thing, and then there’s the constant drums which keep it all together and keep them from sounding too windblown. There’s also the very trippy and pretty darn awesome video.

Holly Read-Challen

Bands to look out for #14

 MS MR

MS MR are yet another one of those bands who have purposefully shrouded themselves in a veil of anonymity to retain some mystery, which would start to become annoying if it didn’t actually make them a lot more interesting. What we do know, is that they’re a duo from New York who have previously described their music as ‘tumblr glitch pop’, a comment reinforced by a Tumblr page to make most teenage girls proud. Their first EP ‘Ghost World’ came out almost a year ago now, featuring an average Patrick Wolf cover and several tracks out of Florence Welch’s dustbin. It was certainly nothing to jump up and down about.

Pleasingly, latest single Hurricane has a bit more backbone. Utilising the home made video technique which led Lana Del Rey to worldwide success, the song holds some of that Florence + the Machine spookiness but this time around, MS MR have been able to put their own twist on it. ‘Hurricane’ is a slow burning love song, with steady strings underpinning vocals which calmly declare ‘welcome to the inner workings of my mind’.

Whether ‘Hurricane’ is a one off, or a sign of things to come, MS MR are clearly a band to keep your eye on.

Jessy Parker

Disclosure - What's In Your Head

Even though the UK’s booming garage/ 2-Step revival prides itself on community spirit and a focus on fun, its labyrinthine history and endless genres and sub-genres give of a definite whiff of wank. Yeah, SBTRKT can wear a mask but we all know he’s laughing behind it, “fools”, he thinks, “These are just Artful Dodger tracks sped up and pitch shifted!” Disclosure however, are playing a whole different game. Littered throughout “What’s In Your Head’s” hoppy beat and playful synth line are a plethora of samples that appear to have been culled straight from Pornhub. It’s all “oooohhh” and “feels so good” and at first it’s innocuous enough but soon enough it gets tiresome and dull, a cheap tactic employed for no discernible reason other than a cheap laugh. Given the pedigree of their previous releases it’s also rather worrisome.

Ned Powley

Savages - Husbands

It’s hard to believe that this is only Savages debut single due purely to the amount of buzz they’ve been attracting recently. Hailed as “the ones to watch” by a dozen music blogs, clearly a lot of people think this London four-piece are good and this single certainly proves them right.

Most noticeable about this song in my opinion is lead singer Jehnny Beth’s voice, which is reminiscent of legendry singers such as Siouxsie Sioux, particularly the way she varies her voice between eerie warbles and plain bonkers shrieks and whispers. The song itself is ferocious, the drums and guitar seamlessly relentless, rising and falling before reaching a crescendo where it all comes together. Despite lasting 3.03 I found myself disappointed to find it had ended so soon, leading to me playing it over and over again, just to feel the exhilaration that the song gave me. If this is Savages first attempt, then I am most definitely looking forward to things that are yet to come.

Listen to Husbands here via soundcloud

Grace Barber-Plentie

Simian Mobile Disco - Unpatterns

Best known for their irresistible collaboration with Justice ‘We Are Your Friends’, Simian Mobie Disco are producers James Ford and Jas Shaw, who rose from the ashes of their more rock orientated group Simian to enjoy commercial success as remixers for acts ranging from Bjork to Muse. Debut album ‘Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release’ was as hyperactive as its title suggests, a fruit looped bleep fest that latched onto Klaxons nu-rave revival, whilst the follow-up ‘Temporary Pleasure’ hurled all manner of indie royalty at its neon painted wall with a mixed bag of results.

Their third record ‘Unpatterns’ has been billed by the duo as a more mature direction, taking its cues from the soulful sound of analogue techno. With fewer vocal hooks it is a record more concerned with mood than tunes and as a statement of intent there is no need to look beyond the heavy bass that kicks in a minute into opener ‘I Waited For You’. This is eerie music to listen to under glowing street lights not wave a glowstick too.

At the centre of the record are two tracks which really set out the duo’s stand for this album. The complex waves of synth on ‘Cerulean’ could easily soundtrack Ryan Gosling’s escalating nightmare in ‘Drive’ whilst ‘Seraphim’ is impeccably produced techno with a gigantic, soulful vocal hook.

Elsewhere the duo reunite with Warp-soul singer Jamie Liddell for ‘Put Your Hands Together’ a sweeping artificial beast built on a synthetic fusion of repetitive crashes and looped beats. ‘Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife’ is a million miles from anywhere they have traversed before, relying on an army of martian descending notes and analogue hiss. It’s patchwork of beeps and glitches is totally undanceable but strangely fascinating like a lost Flying Lotus instrumental.

While the other tunes on ‘Unpatterns’ may rather lack that killer instinct, the production is frequently exceptional, something that is sure to bring Shaw and Ford plaudits in the future. Bass lines and cymbal crashes are crystal clear and polished whilst retaining their ability to unnerve and unsettle. Three years on from ‘Temporary Pleasure’ ‘Unpatterns’ clearly wishes to engage a more hardcore audience beyond the teenage rave paint of their debut and sophomore albums but for a dance record it leaves this listener rather unmoved.



6.2

Max Sefton

Charlie Lankester

Despite being diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma (incurable cancer of the liver) in December 2011, this has not stopped Charlie Lankester working on his own Blues and Rock style music. Far from it! After dropping out of medical school in the seventies, touring with the Australian band The Last Chance Café, and having played the keyboard for twenty years for the likes of Otis Grand, The Boogie Band and The John Warwick All Stars, and playing other people’s songs, Charlie is now ready to hit th big time, and release his first single, ‘The Spinning of the Wheel,’ and his debut album, ‘Song in a Minor Key’ this summer! The single and album release come after Charlie’s free download release of the Southern Gospel cover “In My Time,” which has also been previously covered by Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin.

The “Spinning of the Wheel” is a classic American rock song, reminiscent to the likes of Bon Jovi, and Aerosmith, whereas “In My Time” has a mellow, southern feel to it. The rest of the ‘Song in a Minor Key’ album contain a mixture of rock with a southern Blues vibe, and includes the tracks, Brixton Road, The Real Real Gone, and Greed, all of which you can imagine being played in a Texan bar late at night.


In 2011, Charlie put together his own backing band, ‘The Mojo Killers’ which is made up of guitarists Derek Mandel and Mark Hawkins, bass player Dave Cuthbert, drummer Daniel Howard, plus saxophonist Paul Silver, trumpeter Gavin Broom, and trombone player, Nick Mills. Together, Charlie Lankester and The Mojo Killers create a unique, rhythmic and instrumental concoction of rock-blues that isn’t usually heard of this side of the Atlantic.

Unfortunately, in December 2011, a day before Charlie and the band were supposed to mix the final track of the album in the studio, Charlie was diagnosed with cancer. However, because of this, Charlie says that he is now playing and singing better than ever; “I was feeling so good about the album,” he said, “That when the doctor told me I had only months to live I just laughed and was like, ‘No mate, that's not gonna happen; I've got an album to release!’”

Fired up by the determination to see through the fruition of his new creation, he immediately finished mixing and sought the very best alternative medical advice available to him. The good news is that his tumour has now been reduced by fifty per cent due to a dedicated diet, cancer supplements and high doses of vitamin C.

For the last twenty years (and after going back to medical school in the eighties!), Charlie has practised as an osteopath by day, and has become a much sought after musician at night.

Charlie is headlining The Bedford in Balham on June 19th to preview the release of his single, ‘The Spinning of the Wheel’. You can keep up to date with Charlie on Facebook and you can listen to his music here
 

Leanne Sherman

mewithoutYou - Ten Stories

mewithoutYou’s blend of post-hardcore, indie and folk has led to them having a eclectic back catalogue to say the least. The bands last album, ‘It’s All Crazy! It’s All False! It’s All A Dream! It’s Alright’ was so heavy on the folk influences it split the fan base, sounding far closer to the likes of Neutral Milk Hotel than their metalcore origins. ‘Ten Stories’ sees the band moving back towards the post-hardcore feel, musically falling between 2004’s ‘Catch For Us The Foxes’ and 2006’s ‘Brother, Sister’, yet it retains many elements from It’s All Crazy..., mainly on the lyrical front. The band have balanced their styles perfectly here, so much so that it might be their best record yet.

Ten Stories is, for want of a better phrase, a concept album. It tells the story of a circus train that crashed, outlined in opening track ‘February, 1878’, and looks at the path the animals that the crash sets free take. This is a veil for singing Aaron Weiss’ message of course, one I will leave to you interpret in your own way.

I will say that it is rare for a record to make you contemplate the themes and telling of the story quite this much, and it is only to Aaron’s credit that it does. His lyrics are exquisite, he has a grasp of words that few modern writers can match. Here and there he feeds lines to keep the listener connected to the tale and it’s meaning, “some with certainty insist no certainty exists” he spits on ‘Fox’s Dream Of The Log Flume’, meaning the listener isn’t likely to be alienated when he does spiral off into references to old fables. It’s is potentially his most accessible and best lyrical work for the band yet. His delivery is inch perfect, as he blends his singing and screaming styles wonderfully, and with screaming mainly reserved for conveying emphasis, it doesn’t get overpowering for those who aren’t accustomed to heavier music.

Musically too, Ten Stories sees the band at probably their most accessible. February, 1878 sets out the fact that the guitars and drums are most definitely back, yet the band retain the explosions of sound for when they’re really needed. The way the musical styles are blended is stunning; many times folky guitars and strings meet crashing drums. It feels very free flowing, many songs suddenly switching mood half way through. Take ‘Nine Stories’, which flows as a lovely acoustic track before rising to a doom-laden second half, huge drums and brass. It’s astonishing. Hayley William’s pops up on Fox’s Dream Of The Log Flume and closer All Circles, and her and Aaron’s vocals played off each other work like a dream.

So, lyrically perfect, musically stunning, yet fairly easy to get your head around. It is a long way from their roots, but the progress of their sound is as impressive as any of their contemporaries. It works fantastically on a instant level, but allow yourself to get lost in Aaron’s telling of the tale and the music that flows with it and you will discover something truly special. This is an exceptional record.


9.4

Sean Collison

Live At Leeds 2012

With wristbands collected, me and my partner in crime (H.Risk) headed off into Leeds to explore the city and eventually make our way to the first venue of the day, The Cockpit, to catch the formidable BLACK MOTH blast their way through tunes from debut album ‘The Killing Jar’ which mixes the bands blend of Doom Metal and Punk. Exactly what you need to wake you up for the day ahead!

Still at the cockpit and with pint in hand we watch Toronto, Canada’s very own HOODED FANG. With comparisons that could be made to Black Lips at their most pop and ‘King of the Beach’ era Wavves, Hooded Fang are a lot of fun and their debut gig in Leeds is received well by all.

A trip into Leeds to visit the beautiful city some more and a belly full of food later, we find ourselves once again at The Cockpit (we weren’t being lazy; The Cockpit had some very cool bands on at LAL, ok?) to see if all the hype surrounding FANZINE is worth it. In short, not really. The band play a tight set but it only takes you a few minutes to work out what they are all about, Lo-fi pop numbers that sound like Yuck.

Ironically our first venture outside of The Cockpit is to Leeds Met to see yet another Lo-fi indie pop band, THE HISTORY OF APPLE PIE. The difference between Fanzine and THOAP is that THOAP are a very fun live band, not necessarily in engaging with the crowd, but you get the feeling they love being onstage, and with distortion turned up to the max and bassline bumbling away, it’s hard not to tap your feet along to the noise.

Down to the The Well next (infact LAL was The Wells’ grand re-opening) to check out Leeds’ very own riff slayers HAWK EYES. The band arrive 20 minutes late but no one seems to care by the time they take to the stage as the pit opens and even the odd crowdsurfer makes their way to the stage.

Due to Hawk Eyes turning up 20 minutes late we have to leave early (boo!) and get over to Nation of Shopkeepers to see GROSS MAGIC (yay!) who are already in full swing as we enter the venue. Looking around there’s a lot of band members present to catch Gross Magic’s set, and they bring the party. Shopkeepers is the perfect venue for Gross Magic with bunting scattered about the place and neat art all over the walls. Lovely.

To finish the night off we decide to head up to Leeds Uni and see that band off that Budweiser advert, LOS CAMPESINOS! Who battle through original sound problems to deliver a career spanning set, to leave a packed Leeds Uni Stylus wanting more long after the band have left.

After the short journey to the bus stop we were soon home, reflecting on what a wonderful day we had, thank you to everyone involved for creating such a great event and thank you Leeds for being so darn cute. See you there next year!

Aaron Lewins

The Tallest Man On Earth - 1904

Kristian Matsson releases his third album ‘There’s No Leaving Now’ under his pseudonym The Tallest Man on Earth, on 11th June. ‘1904’ is the first song to be released from it and it bears all the trademarks of what has become the now immediately recognisable style of The Tallest Man On Earth. The Dylan-esque vocals are as raspy as anyone would remember and the Swedish singer-songwriter keeps it simple, allowing guitar parts to build up around him while his voice remains centre stage. The song has the catchy charm that is somehow reminiscent of American rock n roll while still being rooted in folk tradition. The Tallest Man On Earth is proving that he’s not changing for anyone.

Jessy Parker