Florence and the Machine - Lover to Lover

Florence and The Machine's new video showcases a beautifully stripped-down (but no less powerful) version of the song, with Florence herself styled radiantly in an art deco-style, glittery gown and a classy but relaxed updo. A pretty far cry from the clown suit and glittery make-up of the 2008 video for Dog Days Are Over!

The video, simply a live performance, does not include any of the powerful imagery of some of Florence's previous offerings, but this is not necessarily negative, as the song is so heavily layered with it. This also gives another tantalising clue as to how the live show will be (Florence is touring from March). 

'Lover To Lover', from it's plokny piano opening to Florence's vocal prowess, is an impressive song, clearly inspired by Florence's love of Etta James and Soul music, in both its lyrics and its music.

By Holly Read-Challen http://olala.to/fk44r

M.I.A. - Bad Girls

M.I.A. doesn’t really do restraint. What she does do is work people into a total frenzy (see: the whole Truffle Oil fiasco) and then drop some new music that will invariably range from sublime to appalling. Thankfully, Bad Girls falls firmly in the former. Ms Arulpragasam has this incredible knack for holding onto liberal values and promoting small artists whilst simultaneously pulling shit like showing up onstage with Madonna at the Superbowl and seeing no irony in her actions. And whilst these constant stunts can jar they shouldn’t detract from the fact of the matter: Bad Girls is a brilliant song, not only the best thing she’s released in a long time but also a perfect example of the kind of multi-faceted pop that, in her prime, M.I.A. was knocking out with shocking ease. And while Bad Girls adheres pretty strictly to her template (whip-crack beat, Asian-influenced samples, playground chant chorus) the end product is so gloriously wonderful you can do nothing but resign yourself to its boundless energy and self-possession.

By Ned Powley

Bon Iver - Towers

It’s that time again. Time to listen to Justin Vernon’s voice and cry. Yeah, BON IVER TIME. Never do I feel such a conflict of emotion.

Bon Iver have released ‘Towers’, the latest single from sophomore self-titled album, which also sees the appearance of acclaimed pedal steel guitar player Greg Leisz. Not quite as heart-wrenching as previous releases (you know which song I’m hinting at), Towers is admittedly much more upbeat and ‘energetic’ (we’re talking about Bon Iver here) but the vocals of Vernon are still just as intimate and delicate and compliment the string section superbly. Interestingly, percussion is absent from the track until about two minutes in, and even then they’re only present for about thirty seconds before fading off into the distance, letting the focus return to those vocals.

A perfect song. I’ve stopped crying now. Honest… 

By Emily Arc

Grimes - Genesis

If first single ‘Oblivion’, or a recent signing with 4AD is not enough for you, Grimes new single ‘Genesis’ definitely should be. Montreal’s Claire Boucher, or Grimes as she’s better known as, has released her second single in the build up to her debut album ‘Visions’, out on 12th March this year.

Gentler than the debut single, ‘Genesis’ sees Boucher’s vocals drift in and out at whim, seeming so effortless amongst the twinkling synths and swooping keys. The rushing and whooshing is something that could potentially be becoming part of Grimes’ trademark. The gradual build up of this, combined with the arrival of percussion and the dipping in and out of sparseness, gives a whole new dimension to the song, bringing excitement with it.

Strangely relaxing yet simultaneously exciting, this track (coupled with the previous Oblivion) provides a propitious start to Grimes, and has already set a standard for her album. 

By Emily Arc

Wild Nothing - Nowhere

With the first listen of ‘Nowhere’, you wonder whether Wild Nothing’s sophomore album will be like what Father, Son, Holy Ghost was to San Francisco band Girls; a mature progression from the bedroom to the studio, and a record that took huge influence from - but didn’t pastiche -  rock music of the past. 

Whilst the track doesn’t lose the charm of Wild Nothing mastermind Jack Tatum’s lo-fi debut Gemini, it does find itself exploring new territory in the uninhabited space between alternative country and jangle pop, replacing synths with harmonicas and slide guitars. One new addition (a temporary one, nonetheless) is Andrea Estella, singer of dream pop outfit Twin Sister. Although in this new context Estella’s vocals are haunting and subdued (as opposed to bubbly and upbeat), her dulcet tongue-rolled tones are not misplaced. In fact, her presence helps fulfil Tatum’s ambition for dreaminess and ambience. Whilst his debut layered noise after noise to achieve its hazy shoegaze aura, the approach on ‘Nowhere’ is more literal, as Estella sings; “in the dreams, and dreams, I wake you up”. 

Tatum’s influences still seem to be the same as those for Gemini (C86, shoegaze), but his sound is polished and his ambitions newly set. From the sounds of ‘Nowhere’, it’s fair to say he’s got quite a bit to live up to.

By William Hall

Die Antwoord - Ten$ion

 

The biggest thing to come out of South Africa since tap water, Lucas Radabe or Nelson Mandela – Die Antwoord are back with sophomore album TEN$ION following a world tour on the back of debut $O$ and a falling out with ex record label Interscope after trying and failing to send Die Antwoord down a more mainstream path. TEN$ION is to be released on their own label ZEF recordz. 

TEN$ION kicks off with a new direction for the rap rave crew, Ninja spitting over a fluttering dubstep beat making for a more laid back outing from Die Antwoord yet with just as devine results in ‘Never Le Nkemise.’

Yolandi visser's turn now to take vocals, ‘I Fink You Freaky’ puts you straight back into the rap rave world. Ninja - never one to turn down the chance to jump in on DJ Hi Teks thumping bangers - is certain to get crowds worldwide jumping out of their skin, ‘Jump motherfucker jump motherfucker jump’ is Ninjas message, not that anyone would need telling twice, taking the song up a notch before Yolandi and DJ Hi Tek twist the track on its head once again and taking it down another route. 

A couple of interludes and a skit later, ‘Baby’s on Fire’ commences the second half of TEN$ION. Assured to be an anthem within the club scene, Baby’s on fire is a throwback to  90s ravers, to glorious effects. And ‘Make a Ninja Wanna Fuck’ is the place to go if you have ever wanted to know what Ninja singing ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ would sound like. 

‘Fok Julle Naaiers’ roughly translating from Afrikaans as ‘Fuck you wankers’ is another track that is full of lyrics to make you laugh and also beget a story in your mind ‘May my enemies live long so they can see me progress’ is Ninjas mantra that everyone should live by. 

Producer DJ Hi Tek brings TEN$ION near its end in the only way Die Antwoord can, ‘DJ Hi-Tek Rulez’ is a skit from an infamous and just as hilarious Mike Tyson rant which caused much controversy when the ‘Fok Julie Naaires’ video dropped back in early December. 

The album then comes to a proper close with ‘Never Le Nkemise 2’ a rave/dubstep mashup which shall be another guaranteed to get everyone in the vicinity of a live show dancing their bones off. 

Packed full of next level beats courtesy of DJ Hi Tek, Ninja and Yolandi have successfully defeated the curse of the 2nd album, which can make or break careers. The only fault I have with TEN$ION is its length, only 35 minutes in length by the end you are left wanting more. TEN$ION is a voluminous improvement from an already near faultless debut $O$, It’s time to take Die Antwoord seriously.

8/10

By Aaron Lewins

The Weeknd - Echoes Of Silence

Every once in a while an act will come from complete and utter obscurity, releasing tracks on the internet, and will one day, out of the blue be “discovered”. It’s happened before; just look at some acts from our dear old Blighty- Arctic Monkeys, Lily Allen and Kate Nash. This is most definitely the case for Abel Tesfaye, or The Weeknd as he is more commonly known. Notorious for releasing all his music for free on the internet and refusing to do interviews, the singer gained fans when fellow Canadian, Drake posted one of his tracks on Twitter. From there things snowballed, and suddenly The Weeknd was everywhere. In a few short years he has released three mixtapes, featured on Drake’s latest album and remixed Lady Gaga and Florence and the Machine, not bad for a newbie.

Echoes of Silence, his most recent mixtape was released on the internet for free, and was so in demand his website crashed due to the amount of people attempting to download it. The mixtape starts with “D.D”, a cover of Michael Jackson’s “Dirty Diana”. Only recently did I learn that the song was a cover, as it’s delivered convincingly and in such a powerful way that the song could easily be his own. It’s certainly an effective opener, filled with synthesizers and drumbeats reminiscent of Jamie xx’s solo work. This isn’t exactly surprising as The Weeknd’s work, musically, has already been compared to the xx’s debut, with its haunting melodies and drumbeats. Tesfaye’s voice is what carries the opening song, and in fact is the same of the whole album, there is something gripping about it that leaves you as a listener hanging on his every word. He’s been slated as “the best talent since Michael Jackson” and certainly the similarities between their voices are similar. However, Tesfaye makes no attempt to be a Jackson tribute act, which is very relieving.

My one complaint about this album is that as I listened to it, I found myself having to check what track as I was listening to, as after a while, they all begin to blend into one another. On first listen, I found myself musing that, aside from the lyrics, each track sounded pretty much the same. But after a few more listens, certain tracks did begin to stand out from the rest. “Montreal” is wonderful, with a rolling drumbeat and hushed vocals and each half of “XO/The Host is interesting but particularly the end half, a delicate and powerful ballad in which the synths” were kept to a bare minimum, allowing Tesfaye’s voice to shine through.

7/10

By Grace Barber-Plentie

Enter Shikari - A Flash Flood of Colour

I’m going to put this out there with no shame at all; I liked Enter Shikari’s debut album ‘Take To The Skies’. I liked it a lot, in fact I still do. It was exciting, interesting, and rammed with energy. On ‘Common Dreads’ (bar a few tracks), they lost me, but there was clear ambition in it. A genuine attempt to do something interesting. It takes courage to make the music you want to make (although it takes slightly less when you know you’ve just got backing from a major record label and legions of fans who will buy whatever you release).

The bands 3rd album ‘A Flash Flood Of Colour’ starts fairly promisingly. Opener ‘System…’ is slightly cringey lyrically but it works well as an introduction, and fades excellently into ‘Meltdown’. However it’s here things take a turn for the worse. The “breakdown” 25 seconds into Meltdown is dire. It doesn’t work at all. The pattern is repeated in ‘Sssnakepit’, the opening is alright, but the “dubstep” drop and Rou Reynolds lyrics are just plain embarrassing. It’s a shame, because without it Sssnakepit would be a fairly good song (bar the “breakdown” obviously), the chorus is catchy as hell.

It seems unnecessary to deconstruct each track individually; they all have the same flaws. ‘Search Party’ isn’t massively exciting but had promise, until they throw in a terrible “breakdown” and wreck it. ‘Stalemate’ is, again, fairly harmless (bar the lyrics, we’ll get to them) but the over the top throbbing bassline is just unnecessary. Everything is just pushed too far, and it’s a shame because the essence of the band that wrote ‘Sorry, You’re Not A Winner’ are still here somewhere. The guitar work on this album never comes close to being as exciting as that riff, and at times if feels like they’re avoiding taking opportunities to do so.

Now, the lyrics. The band has clearly decided to take an even more political stance than before, but rather than lead to them discussing interesting points it’s just cringe-worthy. I’m in no position to judge whether or not they actually know what they’re talking about, but on AFFOC it makes them sound like 4 lads shouting “the system is bad” over and over. ‘Meltdown’ contains some of the worst moments, where we find Rou shouting the likes of “countries are just lines drawn in the sand with a stick”.

There’s a part of me that would like to commend the bands ambition. There’s no doubt that the music found here is exactly what they wanted to produce, they’ve made an album which sounds exactly how they want it. The problem comes when the ambition is pushed too far at every turn. The lyrics are bad, but I could take or leave that if the music was decent, but it’s just not. It’s poorly crafted; the “breakdowns” (both the guitar and synth ones) ruin any flow the song may have built up. The dubstep parts and hardcore parts rarely blend together at all, never mind well, and it leaves the feeling of a record that could have been good had the band not tried quite so hard to make something new.

Who knows? Maybe I just don’t get it.

3/10

By Sean Collison
 

A celebration of Phillip Glass

The 31^st of January marked the 75^th birthday of Philip Glass, arguably the most influential composer of the 20^th century. He’s worked with everyone from Brian Eno to David Bowie, changed the stuffy pre-conceptions of what classical music should be and had a bit of a hand in the invention of dubstep. Generally tarred with the “minimalist” brush, Glass has been one of the few classically trained composers to be a success in an increasingly “anti-classical” music scene.

Born in Baltimore, Glass found himself influenced by the modern music of Bartok and Schonenberg as well as the more common Western classical composers like Beethoven and Mozart. Glass trained in piano at the Juilliard School where he also studied compostion with Steve Reich, a fellow minimalist composer. Reich’s influence was clear on Glass, who was inspired by watching him to perform to focus on simplification of his style. Glass has continued to find new ways of exploring music throughout his life, writing everything from operas to symphonies.

Minimalism is often overlooked as being boring and thoughtless; random motifs repeated but Glass showed that there was a beauty in simplicity which was being ignored. And the modern musical stars of the age responded. Glass has recorded with Paul Simon and Leonard Cohen, among others. Two of his symphonies ‘Low’ and ‘Heroes’ were based on the thematic material of the Bowie-Eno collaboration albums of the same name, written in Berlin in the mid-70s. The influence of Philip Glass does not end there. Dev Hynes (aka Test Icicles/Lightspeed Champion/Blood Orange) has often mentioned the effect Philip Glass had on him growing up and continues to have on him. And if you look at the sparse bleeps and beats of everything from synth pop to dubstep you can be guaranteed that Philip Glass had some kind of effect on it.

On the evening of his birthday, his 9th symphony is being premiered at the Carnegie Hall. A pretty impressive tribute to a man with one of the largest outputs of music over the past 50 years, especially considering most composers don’t even get close to writing 9 symphonies. The other prolific American composer of the 20th century, Leonard Bernstein (he wrote West Side Story kids) only wrote three. If you’ve never listened to Glass, you are ignoring one of the first people to tell the music industry that less is more, and I suggest you rectify the situation immediately. 


By Jessy Parker

January Round Up

As starts of years go, 2012 has started with a bang in the musical world.


 

January saw some major shifts in the ways people listen to music, with the proposals of US congressional bills SOPA and PIPA dedicated to eradicating internet pirates illegally uploading copyrighted material, which in fact threatened to damage blog and mixtape culture significantly. Luckily the act wasn't passed, but the removal of major file-sharing site Megaupload came as a shock to the system.


The internet also received (and continues to receive) significant backlash over the hyping of one Lana Del Rey. It's been well documented, the sudden rise of signature track Video Games leading to slanderous comments on Lizzie Grant's image, background and her less than thrilling Saturday Night Live performance. If anything, this shows how powerful the internet has become with influence over new artists, Lana Del Rey acting as an unwilling puppet to demonstrate the brutal nature of the modern hype machine. 

Elsewhere, legendary singer Etta James saddened many with her passing, Michael Stipe of REM kicked up a fuss about Youtube's removal of the tastefully homo-erotic Perfume Genius album promo, Michael Kiwanuka surprised many by scooping the BBC's sound of 2012 poll giving hope for boring lounge music everywhere and Disney got hipsters hot and bothered over a badly judged Joy Division t-shirt.


In terms of album releases January hasn't been too shabby either. Here are some choice picks we at Sound Influx have been particularly enjoying:

The Maccabees - Given to the Wild 
"This should be the album that catapults The Maccabees to greater things, whether it’s higher chart placements or bigger festival crowds, it will guarantee one thing; more fans of this beautiful music."
Check out Calum Stephen's full 9/10 review here




Islet - Illuminated People 
"But for all its failures, Illuminated People remains a ferociously sturdy and confident debut, because it isn’t really a debut at all, it’s the logical next step in Islet’s story. And that’s the album in a nutshell, a ball of frenetic contradictions and clashing ideas. This isn’t the first message to the world, this is them having a shot at mass communication and telling people to get ready, because no-one knows where they’ll go next, not even themselves."
See Ned Powley's full 8/10 review here


Lana Del Rey - Born To Die
 "Already developing into a major artist on the strength of her first two singles alone, Born To Die will push her further into the spotlight. The only question is whether she’ll thrive or squint her eyes and hope for a moment of darkness."
Read Aurora Mitchell's 8/10 review here



Howler - America Give Up
"Howler have crafted a very promising record, which will no doubt strike a chord with many due it's undeniable sense of fun and Jordan's witty and wholly likeable lyrics and personality. Howler have dealt with the threat of hype impeccably and the Rough Trade signed band are certainly worth investigating."
 Read Toby McCarron's full review here


Roll on February!


By Toby McCarron