Ghost Carriage Phantoms
I’m not quite sure what to make of the weird, sparse, lo-fi pop of Ghost Carriage Phantoms, but I like it. With shades of London electro-soul band The One, and perhaps a splicing of White Town and TV On The Radio, it’s an odd, discordant and DIY-sounding recording, but with hooks and charm… the album, “The Boy Lives”, is out now on Marketstall Records.
27 Jan 2013
22 Sep 2011
First Sight: Sylwia van der Wonderland
A slice of warm, tactile “melancholic techno” here from the mysterious Sylwia van der Wonderland. It’s rather like The Knife having a dream about being Glass Candy. High praise indeed; you’ll know more when we do.
TRS & Sylwia van der Wonderland – Snowflakes (I don’t know if I want the secrets) by sylwiavanderwonderland
18 Mar 2011
Sin Fang
The Icelandic indie maestro skates the Reykjavik coastline in the video for his new single “Because Of The Blood”, from the forthcoming album “Summer Echoes”.
13 Feb 2011
Veronica Falls
Veronica Falls are a retro sounding four-piece band from Glasgow. Their old-school, lo-fi vibes can be put down to influences such as The Velvet Underground, whom the band claim are one of a selection of artists who bind Veronica Falls sounds and styles together, other names they drop including Felt and Beat Happening. Tracks like ‘Beachy Head’ give the feel of a watered down (though by that I mean more stripped down, and not lacking in quality) version of the Violent Femmes, with a nod to the English landscape marking them as our own breed of pop punk. In terms of genre, don’t call them “twee”; it doesn’t mean what it used to, having been bandied about to the point of meaninglessness; but, that said, ‘Starry Eyes’ is decidedly light-hearted, carefree pop, with lyrics like “I wish that I could reach out and touch you”. ‘Staying Here’ is the kind of sentimental boy/girl harmonising and alternating that makes us question their goth-punk billing. The album, Right Side of My Brain, is released at the end of the month, available on their website merely by signing up to the mailing list. After the success of macabre titled single ‘Found Love in a Graveyard’ earlier this year, they’re headed for good/dark things…
02 Dec 2010
Jam on Bread
There’s nothing like a bit of self-deprecating modesty. Jam on Bread—aka Steve Carlton—describes his music as having “basic ukulele, rubbish voice, amateurish recording”. But the lo-fi, sounds-like-it-was-recorded-in-a-bathroom thing is what makes his songs so captivating – there’s a simplicity in the sounds and a striking, silly smartness in his lyrics. Hailing from Manchester, he recorded his recently released nine track album ‘A Railcard Adventure in Hackney’—a series of darkly comic, adorable accounts of hope, heartache and hypochondria. The LP offers a delightful selection of oddball titled tracks such as ‘I Wish I Was a Manatee’ and ‘Wikipedia Says I’m Dying’. ‘Let Jason Donovan Do The Talking’ sees Carlton writing love letters to girlfriends using lyrics from 80s pop songs “because the 80s say it best”. All are perfectly messy pop songs sung with the voice of a forlorn folk troubadour. He claims he is inspired by “the melancholy sounds of the ocean” but much remains mysterious about this bearded chap – his songs that are fictitious and often ludicrous, but also somehow relatable. The jammy man is one to watch for those looking for some kind of ukulele playing version of the ridiculously entertaining brilliance that is The Wave Pictures.
02 Dec 2010
ANR
ANR play the Lexington with The Concretes, 1 December
“Tropical bohemia” is how the New York Times described the Miami duo (Brian Robertson & Michael John Hancock) ANR. And who am I to argue with that? Their rhythmical and mysterious sounds bring to mind a multitude of influences – having had a sneaky listen to their debut long-player, not out till early next year, I pick out the sounds of Prince in their funk fuelled pop gems, with TV on the Radio’s density; and a pinch of Yeasayer, in the way they drive their joyful melodies into the psychedelic stratosphere. The most amazing fact is that this IS their debut. It sounds so controlled, so focused; it belies their tender years and relative inexperience. Touring with the likes of Gang Gang Dance, No Age and Animal Collective has obviously been a positive influence. ANR is the kind of band you can imagine Bowie or Byrne raving about with their complete disregard for categories, their magpie approach to composition. It’s perhaps no surprise that Brian Robertson was trained as a jazz pianist – he’s brought that exploratory nature together with Michael John’s love of home recording and of comic books, giving a playful and bright sheen to everything. Looking for ones to watch for 2011? You’ve found them.
02 Dec 2010
Trophy Wife
Would you bloody believe it, Oxford has gone and got dead cool. Previously mostly famous for housing some clever dicks and everyone’s favourite clever dicks-come-musos Radiohead, there’s a new bunch of bands attracting attention for making interesting and fun pop music in the city. Best of the bunch is Trophy Wife, a three piece who have already been picked up by Moshi Moshi for their sparky, contemporary take on the disco tracks of Studio, and Donna Summer. Think catchy melodies and throbbing beats but with nice cardigans not flared trousers. Everyone from the NME to the flighty bloggers are getting onside and they should be confidently proclaiming to be the next big thing while sloshed in trendy venues. Are they? Of course not. Described by the band as music made for an “ambitionless office” the songs’ balearic richness battles its understated performance. Debut single ‘Microlite’ is out on the 8th and they tour with Toro y Moi, other Oxford-types Foals and Bombay Bicycle Club (two out of three good bands isn’t bad) throughout November and December.
Trophy Wife play Electrowerkz, 9 November
02 Nov 2010
Big Deal
Big Deal? Yeah, so what, big deal. Or, you know, maybe a blinging-through-the-airport Beckham-style NO PHOTOS big deal. Or maybe a Mad Men sweating-round-the-boardroom-table dotted line big deal? Or maybe the second hand guitar store in Wolverhampton. Who knows which type of big deal Big Deal are named after. They sound a bit like the formerly-quite-a-big-deal duo The Kills, but stripped back and more subtle and less bombastic and annoying. Just nice, personal, low key songs rather than all that sloganeering. Maybe it’s just the boy-girl dynamic that’s the same, and the vaguely Americana feel. It’s almost reassuring to hear two people singing over some guitar, and for it to be really great. Sometimes, it feels like all the combinations of notes have been written, and all the lyrics have been sung before in all the different ways. And maybe they have. But as Big Deal prove, that doesn’t mean someone new can’t come along and make something honest and strikingly simple, that sounds like it was always written somehow, that makes everything seem fresh again for a minute. This is nice stuff.
Big Deal, or no deal.
Big Deal play the Lock Tavern, 7 November, and the Lexington, 15 November
02 Nov 2010
Active Child: Pat Grossi is walking in the air
Active Child, aka pale skinned, strawberry-blonde LA resident Pat Grossi, seemed to come out of nowhere this year, but tracking back on music blog aggregator Hype Machine reveals that a handful of his songs have been creeping across the blogosphere since August 2009.
The influential Transparent blog first posted “She Was a Vision”, leading to coverage on everything from monolithic US tastemaker site Pitchfork to über-blogs Stereogum and RCRD-LBL to homegrown champions of all things indie The Line Of Best Fit, and culminating in an impressive internet-led word-of-mouth following.
03 Oct 2010
Snipe Highlights
Some popular articles from past years
- Hope and despair in Woolwich town centre
- Diary of the shy Londoner
- Could red kites be London's next big nature success story?
- Peter Bayley has worked for 50 years as a cinema projectionist in East Finchley
- The five spookiest abandoned London hospitals
- Margaret Thatcher statue rejected by public
- Silencing the Brick Lane curry touts could be fatal for the city's self-esteem
- Only 16 commuters touch in to Emirates Air Line, figures reveal
- Nice map of London's fruit trees shows you where to pick free food
- London has chosen its mayor, but why can’t it choose its own media?
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