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Sunday, 14 March, 2010

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These pages are all about bands/artists you may not have heard of, but need to get used to. "Who the f*ck?" Exactly.

The Soft Pack

Nuts and Bolts: Matt Lamkin, Matty McLoughlin, Dave Lantzman, Brian Hill Stomping Ground: San Diego, formed 2005 Set to Soundtrack: many, many Ipods Destined to Upset: People that like a nice clean, crisp production You’re in Business if you like: The Strokes, The Walkmen, The Velvet Underground, the Stooges, the Modern Lovers Notion misses the Modern Lovers. In the early seventies they were crafting clever, inch-perfect pop music with a solid backbone of art-rock and new wave. Don’t get us wrong; some of their later work was a bit dodgy, but the early material - circa ‘Roadrunner’ and ‘She Cracked’ - was incredible. Well, the heirs to their long-vacant throne have arrived in the...

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Dinosaur Pile Up

Nuts and Bolts: Matt Bigland, Tom Dunford, Steve Wilson, Stomping Ground: Leeds, formed 2007 Set to Soundtrack: Good ol’ fashioned moshpits Destined to Upset: the Shoreditch crowd You’re in Business if you like: Jimmy Eat World, Grandaddy, The Melvins, Smashing Pumpkins, Mudhoney Dinosaur Pile Up are a band that take things back to basics. Out of the window with any pretensions and into the mix with Brontosaurus sized riffs, pounding drums and impassioned vocals. If the original glimmer of promise shown by the Vines hadn’t descended into mediocrity, then DPU are a bit like they would have sounded. Notion caught their set on the ‘Levi’s Ones to Watch’ stage recently at the Great Escape music industry shindig in Brighton and can confirm that their balls-out sound is every bit as all-engrossing live as it is on record. They put on an ear bleedingly loud, raucous show the highlight of which was their track ‘Traynor’, which came into life with the squeal of feedback before a crunching, distortion-soaked riff and screamed vocals were unleashed. You might think their name is a reference to their heavy, aggressive guitar-led sound. Or maybe a tongue-in-cheek joke about their 1990s musical reference points being out of fashion and pretty much extinct in today’s musical climate. But you would be wrong. ‘I went to see the remake of King Kong,’ laughs singer and guitarist Matt Bigland. 'It was really overblown and ridiculous and there’s this huge chase sequence where about 12 dinosaurs just pile into each other, at that moment I just knew I wanted to start a band called that. It’s not really meaningful or anything, I just thought it was funny.’

Dinosaur Pile Up

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DAVID E SUGAR Nuts and Bolts: David E Sugar – guitars, blips, beeps, vocals and everything else Stomping Ground: London, since 2004 Set to Soundtrack: the later part of this year, if you are lucky Destined to Upset: Those who want a new album right now You’re in Business if you Like: Calvin Harris, Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Hot Chip, George Demure He’s played to massive audiences in Germany and Switzerland, but somehow David E Sugar is a criminally unknown quantity in this country. The lord above only knows why; he ticks all the right boxes with euphoric keyboard lines, fuzzy backbeats and heartbreaking melodies drifting below laid-back East End slacker vocals, which merge seamlessly into a crooned baritone. He’s currently unsigned but has recorded 37 new tracks, and is in talks with a handful of labels over the release of a full-length album later this year. Here at Notion, we’ve been lucky enough to get our grubby hands on half-a-dozen of his new unreleased tracks, which veer from down-tempo electro with delicate, harmonised vocals, to autumnal acoustic numbers with haunting keyboards and the occasional burst of bleeps and blips. The pick of the bunch is ‘Fleamarket’, which slips from a verse of serene synths and shuffling drums to a surprisingly poppy chorus that sounds like Talking Heads if they had stopped writing about architecture and laid down some bitter-sweet tracks dripping in nostalgia. You will have to wait for a while before you hear a full album, but in the meantime, to sate your appetite, you can pick up a few limited edition vinyl singles if you trawl the internet, or just check out his myspace page, which isn’t as much fun, but is cheaper. Extracted from Notion Magazine 38. To subscribe to Notion Magazine CLICK HERE !

David E Sugar

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My Toys Like Me

NUTS AND BOLTS: Frances Noon, Lazlo Legezer, Charlie Boud, Alfonso Pisanelli STOMPING GROUND: London, formed 2005 SET TO SOUNDTRACK: Piled-up underage raves DESTINED TO UPSET: People who are easily unnerved YOU’RE IN BUSINESS IF YOU LIKE: The Ting Tings, ESG, Cibo Matto, Etta James, Tricky This is unnerving stuff. My Toys Like Me are reminiscent of Tricky’s dark trip hop, circa ‘Maxinquaye,’ but with his hushed whispers replaced by Francis Noon’s unsteady, pubescent vocals. That’s not a bad thing. It’s just odd. If you imagine Lilly Allen’s privileged upbringing and breezy pop mentality replaced by formative years spent in the gutter eating gummy bears and clinging to a soiled teddy bear, then you are along the right lines. The standout track of the band’s debut, ‘Where We Are,’ is the dub-inflected track, ‘Superpowers’. It’s a slice of noir electro, underpinned with a weird, menacing bossa nova rhythm, staccato slashes of treble-loaded guitar and politically-edged, child-like vocals. Elsewhere there’s a minimalist pop sensibility, like the track ‘Barnaby,’ which shuffles through a glitchy verse of blips, beeps and bass, before a surprisingly uplifting chorus, which occupies the strange terrain between Rachel Steven’s throwaway hit, ‘Some Girls,’ and Neu!’s influential early meanderings. MTLM won’t be to everyone’s taste; the saccharine vocals will give some people an ice-cream headache, but if you can get past that, then some great pop songs gradually emerge. WHERE WE ARE OUT IN MAY (DUMB ANGEL) WORDS: ROB DABROWSKI

My Toys Like Me

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Nuts and Bolts: Jimmy Screech – vocals, DJ Mr Mosmo – decks and FX, Sam - drums, Leon – guitar, James - bass Stomping Ground: London, since 2006 Set to Soundtrack: Hash filled rooms everywhere Destined to Upset: Reggae purists You’re in Business if you Like: Jimmy Cliff, Toots and the Maytals, Roots Manuva, King Tubby, Nas Jimmy Screech embraces a distinctly British variant of dancehall reggae, eschewing the clichéd historical baggage of love, peace and harmony that’s weighed the genre down since it became a parody of itself in the early eighties. His formative years were spent steeped in Jamaican gospel roots acts, like Toots and the Maytals, but it’s his basterdisation of the genre with British hip-hop and dub that’s seen him selected for support slots better known artists would kill for. Roots Manuva handpicked Jimmy as his support act and old school hip-hop crew, Ugly Ducking, were second in line to whip him away on the tourbus for a handful of dates. Listen to his recent single, ‘Wood 4 the Trees’, and you will know why... it sounds like latter day Lee Scratch Perry swamped in heavy basslines, with flourishes of brass, and sweetly intoned vocals, contrasting with breathless rapping. On other tracks he veers further towards vintage dancehall, like ‘England’, his ode to down-and-out Britain, in which he sounds like Blighty’s answer to East Coast hip-hop duo Nice & Smooth transposed to the days of the great Jamaican sound clashes. Since the eighties - when Don Letts, Steel Pulse and the Specials were shunted from the airwaves - British reggae has been dominated by dreadlocked, acoustic guitar-toters regurgitating the same hackneyed style. Most reggae produced on our shores after ’82 has been dire. Jimmy isn’t; he’s great. Listen to him. Single ‘Scandalous’ is out now (MAP Music) Extracted from Notion Magazine 38 (On Sale Now)

Jimmy Screech

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Nuts and Bolts: Evan – Microphone and guitar, Fab – Drums, Katie – Microphone, Roary – Microphone and bass Stomping Ground: Norwich, UK, formed in 2007 Set to Soundtrack: The carnival march of Lego men Destined to Upset: Your stomach if you’re allergic to fun You're In Business If You Like: The Unicorns, Cheeky Cheeky and the Nosebleeds, I Was A Cub Scout, Let’s Wrestle, Thomas Tantrum How can a name be so indefinable, yet so appropriate? Kabeedies sounds like a Wurlitzer crossed with a cuddly toy carousel animal. So you get all the lovability and cuteness of stuffed fabric and the spinning, vomit-inducing insanity of a fairground ride dosed up on sugary donuts and candyfloss. ‘ That's how a performance is meant to be, chaotic and fun. Rory's got himself a massive blotch on his forehead from smacking his face on the microphone, and usually I'm passing out from exhaustion and Katie and Evan have lost their voices,’ explains Fab. The whirling dervish that is Katie can’t help but be the band’s focal point, but every one of them looks like they’re having the time of their lives on stage and they’re only 16-18. We’re jealous. Having mapped out their deliciously sweet sound on forthcoming Cool For Cats single, ‘Treasure Hunting,’ a crossed-swords balance of galloping bass, chiming guitars and hyperactive voices, it can’t be long before those saccharine sounds capture everyone’s sweet tooth. They already had ‘close to 1000’ people watching them at Latitude Festival this year, in the rain. Come next year’s festivals, they may well still be that sweet lil’ indie band but they’ll be towering over you…probably on unicycles and stilts. ‘Treasure Hunting’ is out now (Cool For Cats) Extracted from Notion Magazine 37 (On Sale Now) Photo courtesy: Andy and Alex 2008

The Kabeedies

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You Love Her Coz She's Dead

Nuts and Bolts: Elle Dead – vocals, Jay Dead, vocals, synth, bass, programming Stomping Ground: London, formed 2007 Set to Soundtrack: Fashionable parties in outer space Destined to Upset: Your ears You’re in Business if you Like: Digitalism, autoKratz, Justice, Los Campesinos, Bikini Kill There are some shit names floating around the music industry, take David E Sugar, for example, great tunes, but his name makes him sound like a Butlins Redcoat who can bring middle-aged women to their knees with his wry smile and cheeky version of ‘La Bamba.’ Then there are those bands which deserve fame and adoration for their name alone. You Love Her Cos She’s Dead fit firmly in the latter camp. It would be easy to just discuss their name for the next few paragraphs, maybe with a Freudian psychoanalytic approach to the implied necrophilia, but, alas, we haven’t the time, so on with the music... There have been plenty of 8-bit post punksters knocking out scuzzy dance tracks over the last year, but YLHCSD differ in that they are one of the few to walk the tightrope of melody and ear bleeding buzzing and come out the other side without a hair on their fashionable barnets out of place. Their track ‘Superheroes’ was last year selected for a compilation by très cool French label, Kitsuné, and is all taut drums, a conflicting spider-web of synths and a chorus that batters you into submission with a wall of distorted electro. But it’s not all about post-nu-rave; YLHCSD indulge in moments of vintage krautrock, which could easily have come from 1970s Düsseldorf. Great band, incredible name. ‘Inner City Angst EP’ is out now (Kitsuné) Extracted from Notion Magazine 38 (On Sale February 18th)

You Love Her Coz She's Dead

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NUTS AND BOLTS: Ben Summers - drums, Sara Beard - synths / vocals, Lorien Edwards – bass, Michael Watson – synths / vocals STOMPING GROUND: Manchester, UK, formed 2006 SET TO SOUNDTRACK: Planets colliding DESTINED TO UPSET: Anyone still clinging to the Madchester dream YOU’RE IN BUSINESS IF YOU LIKE: Los Campesinos!, Broken Social Scene, Munch Munch, Fuck Buttons, Blonde Redhead We should be grateful to Cats In Paris, because they scoff at the archaic tradition of every band from Manchester sounding like The Stone Roses, The Smiths or Joy Division. Their fresh, jagged art pop is a desperately needed addition to a city which has been living off its musical heritage and producing vile, offensively middle-of-the-road pap like Starsailor for far too long. The four-piece burst forth from the musical capital of the north with off-the-wall hooks, layers of dissonant guitars, fuzzy synths, waltzing violins and plinky-plonk keys. Every now and again they even lean towards Jean Michel Jarre, but in a good way, honest. The epic tour-de-forces they unleash threaten to overload the speakers, only to fall away from crescendos onto delicate moments of lo-fi twinkling. Imagine if Los Campesinos! weren’t scared of their own shadows, or if Blond Redhead weren’t so fucking miserable these days, and you have a rough idea of Cats In Paris’ spiky, irreverent anti-pop. DEBUT ALBUM ‘COURTCASE 2000’ IS OUT NOW (Aa RECORDINGS) Extracted from Notion Magazine

Cats In Paris

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NUTS AND BOLTS: Aaron With – guitar / vocals, Mark Cartwright – electronics / bass, Sam Scranton – drums / percussion STOMPING GROUND: Chicago, Illinois, formed 2005 SET TO SOUNDTRACK: Lord above only knows DESTINED TO UPSET: Those who like clearly defined boundaries YOU’RE IN BUSINESS IF YOU LIKE: Dirty Projectors, Deerhoof, Whirlwind Heat, Efterklang, The Red Paintings Volcano! aren’t an easy band to figure out. Their second album, ‘Paperwork,’ is a weird and wonky mix of post-punk, art-rock and free jazz, punctured with forays into ambient electronics. If you like your music coherent, then you’d best stop reading now, but if you want to listen to a sprawling amalgamation of squealing guitars, shotgun percussion and off-kilter melodies - which, let’s be honest, you really should - carry on... One minute the three-piece is battering your ears into submission with out-of-tune guitar riffs, out-of-time drums and out-of-the blue electronic squawks; the next they slide into soothing moments of leftfield reprise. Any band that can combine the minimalist noise-rock of Steve Albini’s ‘Shellac,’ with melodies that sound like Ariel Pink at his prettiest, deserves your attention. After one album, which had critical plaudits raining down on the band, but popular success giving them a wide berth, Volcano! are back and leaner and tighter than before. Admittedly, it’s odd stuff, but well worthwhile for the slow-burning melodies which gradually emerge. ‘PAPERWORK’ IS OUT NOW (THE LEAF LABEL) Extracted from Notion Magazine

Volcano!

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Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele

NUTS AND BOLTS: Dent May – ukulele / keyboards / vocals STOMPING GROUND: Jackson, Mississippi, since 2005 SET TO SOUNDTRACK: The return of geek chic DESTINED TO UPSET: Anyone who dislikes twee music YOU’RE IN BUSINESS IF YOU LIKE: Lee Hazelwood, The Partridge Family, The Beach Boys, The Russian Futurists, Serge Gainsbough Notion’s jaw dropped in baffled admiration after stumbling across the Youtube video to ‘Oh Paris!’, a track from Dent May’s first split EP. The 23-year-old troubadour has crafted one of those perfect pop moments that breaks your heart while dripping in originality. The track is imbued with an aching sadness as Dent croons about his love for Parisian girls over a gently strummed ukulele line, finger clicks and layers of doo-wop backing vocals. On the other side of the vinyl EP is ‘Meet Me In The Garden,’ which sees Dent lamenting his way through three minutes and 19 seconds of bitter-sweet musings on unrequited love, with more harmonised backing vocals and bursts of wobbly synths. These betray a love for electronic music pioneer, Bruce Haack, who made children’s records in the sixties using weird and wonderful homemade instruments. And the man himself… what a man! He is all inch-thick circular spectacles, bad dancing, tight-fitting beige jeans and he lives in a trailer in the back-end of Mississippi. Listen to him - now. ‘MEET ME IN THE GARDEN/OH PARIS!’ IS OUT NOW (MAKE MINE) Extracted from Notion Magazine

Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele

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NUTS AND BOLTS: Ben Rogers – guitar, vocals, David Greenep - guitar, vocals, Anne Carruthers – cello, James Hitchins – double bass, Natalie Sedgwick – violin, Andy Hobson - drums STOMPING GROUND: Ely, Cambridgeshire, formed 2004 SET TO SOUNDTRACK: Weird druid gatherings next to large rocks DESTINED TO UPSET: Lovelorn singer songwriters who strum open chords for catharsis YOU’RE IN BUSINESS IF YOU LIKE: Tom Waits, Nick Drake, Nick Cave, Syd Barrett, Bermuda Triangle Band SixToes aren’t just freaks of the digit world; they are misfits of the folk scene too. If that particular F- word conjures up frightful images of bearded men in cardigans hunched over acoustic guitars, singing about love and sunshine, you can rest easy – SixToes are odd. The sextet peddles an off-the-beaten-track mutation of sixties psych-folk, overlaid with baritone vocals that bear more than a passing resemblance to Tom Waits’ legendary vaudeville growl. Their debut single, ‘Four Leaf Clover,’ is five minutes of gently finger-picked guitar, harmonized vocals, and aching cello lines and is the band’s most conventional moment to date. But venture onto the flipside, ‘Reggae Song,’ and you will hear SixToes at their weirdest… it’s all unnerving minor key guitar lines and out-of-tune crooning, leading to a vocal chant driven crescendo. ‘Four Leaf Clover’ is out now (Toe Music) Extracted from Notion Magazine

Six Toes

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NUTS AND BOLTS: Ghetto Priest – vocals, Sandman – producer/MC STOMPING GROUND: London , UK , formed 2007 SET TO SOUNDTRACK: Dark streets and seedy clubs DESTINED TO UPSET: Hip hop purists YOU’RE IN BUSINESS IF YOU LIKE: Disciples, African Head Charge, Adrian Sherwood, Black Twang, Mr Thing Screaming Soul is the genre defying collaboration between Ghetto Priest of Asian Dub Foundation, and MC/producer, Sandman, aka Doobie of the Underground Alliance. The pair spews forth a bastardised amalgamation of roots, rap, hip hop and dub, with even the occasional hint of noir jazz glimmering through the fuggy beats. Their music takes you on a tour of down-and-out London, where gentle Gil Scott-Heron keyboards and soulful reggae vocals are swamped under dub basslines, with spitfire raps over the top. Their debut single, ‘Warfare,’ is the darkest of their work so far, opening via eerie keyboards swaggering with such menace it makes Massive Attack sound like the Monkeys. The overtly political reggae vocals hark back to the days of reggae soundsystems when Jamaican culture was imported to Blighty en masse in the early seventies... Listening to Screaming Soul you can almost feel the claustrophobia of dim rooms filled with the stale skunk smoke of yesteryear. Warfare is out now (Holy Voodoo) Extracted from Notion Magazine

Screaming Soul

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NUTS AND BOLTS: Jeffrey McGrath - vocals, guitar, Michael Bouzoukis - organ, bass, Emmanuel Nicolaidis - drums STOMPING GROUND: Baltimore , Maryland , formed 2005 SET TO SOUNDTRACK: Hipsters drinking black coffee and musing on Nietzsche DESTINED TO UPSET: Those of a delicate disposition YOU’RE IN BUSINESS IF YOU LIKE: Sonic Youth, Mars, Fugazi, Tortoise, Shellac Thank You are a welcome shot in the arm for a gradually dwindling avant-punk scene Stateside. With the Yeah Yeah Yeahs moving further away from their New York no-wave roots and Fugazi on permanent hiatus, this trio of scuzz merchants is flying the independent flag high and proud. The band’s latest LP, ‘Terrible Two,’ is a sprawling soundscape of abrasive guitars, tinny drums slipping out of time and the occasional vocal chant. With the treble pushed to the limit and earbleeding avalanches of noise, you’re not in for an easy ride, but over the course of their lengthy tracks, Thank You slide into odd, sparse, serene moments of soothing organ and delicate guitar. If you need proof of their calibre, J Robbins, the man behind Yeasayer and Jets To Brazil, and Chris Coady, of Yeah Yeah Yeahs and TV On The Radio fame, are fans. ‘Terrible Two’ is out now (Thrill Jockey) Extracted from Notion Magazine

Thank You

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The Transpersonals

The Transpersonals’ music sounds like the kind of thing you’d find if you carved open the mind of a 60s free-love-and-fucking, Acid-popping freak and were drowned underneath a kaleidoscopic stream of musical notes. Only The Transpersonals’ music is a bit more, well… now? A tad more current. You know; good for 2008? The Bristolian band’s back-story paints an interesting picture, not least because it’s neither now, current or 2008; in fact, it’s the kind of tale you’d associate with the psychedelic and experimental 60s Summer of Love. We’re talking Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys when he went through his whole mind-frazzled ‘Smiley Smile’ faze; Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones before he was found face down in his swimming pool; the wide-eyed Syd Barrett before he became a recluse and made book-shelves out of baked bean cans. We’re talking about gorging on more hallucinogenic drugs than a fat kid eats candy bars and a fly nibbles fresh shit. The Transpersonals’ lead-vocalist, Timothy Hurford, was homeless and expanding his mind by dropping just about anything that would send him on a far-out trip, man. Maybe it was the sheep playing poker and drinking Blue Nun, or whatever crazy images were flying through Hurford’s neuro-transmitters, but he eventually found himself locked away in a mental institute. Thankfully, he’s okay now, although it’s apparent from The Transpersonals’ music that Hurford’s psychedelic experimentation and spell in mental-captivity has left a long-standing mark. Despite a notable psychedelic theme to The Transpersonals’ music, with subtle undertones of the 90s Indie vibe, debut EP ‘Evolve or Die’ is an eclectic four-track collection. ‘Hello Hello’ is a psych-tinged Surf-Pop ditty and a mighty catchy little number, whilst ‘Silver Star’ features the fantastic Katey Brooks as guest-vocalist. Instant comparisons to Nico (she of Velvet Underground fame) will no doubt be made. And it’s the fact that few bands have delved into the kaleidoscopic realms of psychedelica in 2008, that makes The Transpersonals a sure-fire bet to carve a name within the niche. Go check out their MySpace and order their EP now. You’ll be pleasantly surprised… Words: Dangerous Dave

The Transpersonals

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Reemer: Dave Hunter (Vocals), Nick Murray (Guitar), Dan Evans (Drums), Max Redfern (Bass) Reemer may have the sort of name you’d associate with a guy who enjoys licking arse out, but they’re actually a pop-punk band from Manchester. It’s true. Their name has nothing to do with anilingus at all; they took it off a guy from cult film ‘Baseketball’. Think Busted, dunked in a blender with a blotter of LSD and a bottle of fizzy pop, and you’re almost there… almost. Anyway, Reemer are so popular in Manchester and the North-West that a recent gig at ‘Sonic Boom’ was oversold by like, 200 tickets. Everyone stormed the stage like a scene from Zulu, and then, get this… they kidnapped Reemer’s bass player, Max Redfern! Mental isn’t it? Reemer even featured in everyone’s favourite C4 soap opera, Hollyoaks, which has storylines including teen-junkies and a guy who’s faked his own death. The band repaid the favour by roping in Leah Hackett, who plays Tina McQueen in the soap, to star in the video to new single ‘Maniac’. Tina McQueen’s latest storyline was giving birth to her boyfriend’s brother’s baby for her ex-jailbird sister, who goes out with her boyfriend’s brother… or something like that. It’ll all end in tears. In fact, so popular are Reemer up North, that Johnny Vegas is set to ditch the knitted tea-drinking monkey to star in their next video! Alas, Reemer have recently been asked to contribute a track to the Mighty Boosh podcast, have an extensive upcoming tour schedule, and are set to release a debut album on ‘Reaction Records’. This suggests that they’re going to explode like a liquid fart! The upcoming album, Snakes and Ladders, is being produced by Andy Macpherson and Chris Kemsey, who have worked with the likes of Blondie, The Cult, New Model Army, The Who, and The Rolling Stones! Anyway, you can check Reemer out on their MySpace . DD New single ‘MANIAC’ is out now on ‘Reaction Records’. Debut album ‘SNAKES AND LADDERS’ is released September 2008. Check out the video to Maniac starring Tina from Hollyoaks:

Reemer

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