The Allmusic Blog

Crush Band: Lucky Soul

Tim Sendra — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:40:07 +0000

Last year while everybody was busy going wild over the Pipettes and their warmed-over take on the girl group sound of the ’60s, another band in England was effortlessly knocking their weak efforts into a cocked hat. Lucky Soul are influenced by a similar musical era but instead of slavish imitations, they pump their Northern Soul meets G-Group sound with a thrilling blast of energy and, thanks to Ali Howard’s sweet and soulful vocals, a warm emotion that’s missing from the Pipettes’ clinical approach. Lucky Soul also easily trump Duffy’s studied, over-blown and over-sung songs, give Candie Payne a run for her money and provide an indie pop alternative for anyone who’s tired of Amy Winehouse’s antics but still has an affinity for her backwards-looking, soulful style. (And though this might scare off older folks and mystify everyone else, if you close your eyes you can almost hear a Bite-era Altered Images influence, especially in Howard’s voice but also in the lushness of the arrangements.) The group’s 2007 debut album The Great Unwanted was pretty much slept on but it’s possibly the most joyful, pure-est pop album of the year. Go Myspacing for samples or watch the video for the wonderfully melancholy “My Brittle Heart”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf1rHo8vGWw

And for a decidedly more peppy version of the band’s sound…here’s “Add Your Light To Mine, Baby”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyLLIsw1Yo0

Crush Band: Allá

Heather Phares — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 19:32:38 +0000

The weather in Chicago today is chilly and cloudy, but you’d never know it based on the sunny sounds of the Windy City’s Allá (pronounced “ayê-ya”). The trio’s globally savvy pop embraces not just their Mexican heritage, but immaculate Swedish pop, Brazilian Tropicalia, Krautrock, and Chicago’s post-rock scene. Singer Lupe Martinez sounds alluring no matter what backdrop brothers Jorge and Angel Ledezma put behind her, whether it’s the languid guitars on “Golpes del Sol” or “Un Dia Otra Noche”’s giddy strings and handclaps. Allá spent four years recording self-financed sessions all over the globe, stopping at musical ports of call including Chicago’s Soma Electronic Studios and Sweden’s Tambourine Studios, where Jorge worked with arranger Patrick Bartosch to get the string and horn sounds that have graced the Cardigans’ and Eggstone’s music. With Isotope 217’s Matt Lux and Red Red Meat’s Brian Deck also among the trio’s collaborators, Allá’s upcoming debut Es Tiempo — which will be released by Crammed Discs, also home to Konono No. 1 — is certain to be just as creative as it is sophisticated. Es Tiempo won’t arrive until June, but head over to Allá’s MySpace page for a taste of their summery sounds.

Crush Band: Kira Lynn Cain

Heather Phares — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 18:30:03 +0000

At the intersection of alt-country and film noir stands Kira Lynn Cain, whose lavish, shadowy music conjures up all kinds of fanciful comparisons (Mazzy Star meets Ennio Morricone! Julee Cruise meets Calexico!) that describe the outlines of her sound, but not the essence of it. She intended to become a painter before pursuing music, and her vivid imagery gives songs like “White as a Dove” a surreal intensity — which makes sense, since the works of filmmakers such as Luis Buñuel and Maya Deren and writers like Andre Breton made a strong impact on her as a student at the San Francisco Art Institute. Cain learned to write songs by singing her own words over Hank Williams’ chords, giving her music a dreamy déjà vu that remains in “All the Mirrors of the World.” There’s also an innocence and elegance to Cain’s music that feels channeled from the vocal pop of the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s that was the soundtrack to her childhood.

This kind of music is often called “filmic,” and Cain doesn’t shy away from that vibe, given her David Lynch-ian website and the artwork to her upcoming debut album The Ideal Hunter, which suggests a vintage movie poster. The Ideal Hunter isn’t out until May, but Cain’s music is so spellbinding that it needs to be heard now. Check out her MySpace page for songs and California tour dates.

Crush Band: Stone Gods

Katherine Fulton — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 21:02:10 +0000

What do you do when your front man leaves the band? If you’re Dan Hawkins, Ed Graham and Richie Edwards, you rearrange your lineup, recruit a friend to fill the gap, change your approach and soldier on. After the departure of Justin Hawkins, the remaining members of The Darkness regrouped to form Stone Gods — former bassist Edwards took over lead vocal and guitar duties, while band friend Toby Macfarlaine stepped in on bass.

The results? A band that’s harder, heavier, and a heck of a lot rowdier. Like fellow hard rockers Wolfmother, Airbourne and Jet, the members of Stone Gods aren’t afraid to wear their influences on their sleeves (AC/DC, Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy and Def Leppard, to name a few). The emphasis is on tight rhythms and harmonies, as well as some understated guitar work that nonetheless produces some juicy riffs. Edwards makes a surprisingly capable frontman — his raspy voice and energetic delivery cuts through even the most thunderous tunes and still manages to be suitable for the occasional acoustic interlude. Both can be sampled at the group’s MySpace page, while U.K. residents can get their hands on the band’s first EP starting February 25. A full-length debut album should follow some time this summer.

Crush Band: Wildbirds & Peacedrums

Heather Phares — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:35:11 +0000

Sweden’s thriving indie-pop scene has been getting a lot of press for some time now (and for good reason), but bands like Wildbirds & Peacedrums are proof that the country has other amazing sounds to offer. The duo describes itself as “Other/Blues/Pop” on their MySpace page, and they’re not kidding — especially about the “other” part. Singer Mariam Wallentin and her drummer husband Andreas Werliin make music that is purposefully, wonderfully hard to pin down, and a pretty far cry from the delicate indie-folk that their band name suggests.

On “There is No Light” from their upcoming second album Snake, the duo is downright feral, all tribal rhythms and guttural vocals a la Diamanda Galas or PJ Harvey; “I Can’t Tell in His Eyes,” from their debut album Heartcore, is gentle and sparkling — but the power in Wallentin’s voice remains, even if it’s relatively subtle. At its rawest and most striking, Wildbirds & Peacedrums’ music has an almost field recording-like quality to it, especially in their live performances (click here to watch them play their record release party last summer). In addition to Snake, the band is also re-releasing Heartcore via Leaf Records, will soon tour with the also very crush-worthy Lykke Li, and will be 2008’s Jazz in Sweden band.

Raven Sings the Blues has a couple of Wildbirds & Peacebirds MP3s — and is worth your time in general if you like underground and unusual music from the past to the present.

Crush Band: XYZ Affair

Heather Phares — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 20:56:19 +0000

Named after an 18th century diplomatic situation that sparked the 1798 Quasi-War between France and the United States, Brooklyn’s XYZ Affair also have a pretty good grasp on musical history. On their self-released debut album A Few More Published Studies, their sound nods to Big Star’s classic power-pop, but on the rowdy-yet-vulnerable “All My Friends,” the band sounds uncannily like a more falsetto-happy version of Pinkerton-era Weezer — if Rivers Cuomo threw out his charts and graphs of the perfect pop song, that is. XYZ Affair’s video finesse is also a bit Weezer-esque; while the clip for “All My Friends” isn’t quite in the league of “Buddy Holly,” it also plays on TV nostalgia. The band got cast members from favorite Nickelodeon shows, including Salute Your Shorts‘ Danny Cooksey, The Adventures of Pete & Pete’s Michael Marona, Clarissa Explains it All’s Jason Zimbler and most prominently, Double Dare host Marc Summers, to appear in the video. Childhood memories, soaring choruses, and slime — it doesn’t get much better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IerHOrDQKW0

Crush Band: Sister

Katherine Fulton — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 19:33:12 +0000

Rising from the ashes of previous bands, the members of London quintet Sister came together two years ago and set up rehearsal space in an abandoned industrial warehouse. The band is known for both their distinctive sense of style and their mellow, dreamy sound (which has earned them frequent comparisons to the Velvet Underground), but what sets them apart is frontwoman Gemma Banks. As lead vocalist, Banks’ delivery is understated but never delicate; she exudes a cool confidence rather than base sex appeal. The rest of the band - Alan (guitar), Steve (bass), Jamie (keyboards) and Matt (drums) - does a fine job of showcasing her talents without fading into the background. Sister’s music may be atmospheric, but it commands attention.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODPgX9oN9L0

Long Live the Royal We!

Tim Sendra — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 15:40:52 +0000

Glasgow’s The Royal We were another in the long line of brilliant Scottish pop groups (Hmm … top 5: Orange Juice, the Pastels, Belle & Sebastian, the Vaselines, Wet Wet Wet.). In their short existence, they didn’t do much really. Played some shows, made a couple videos, released a short album. Oh, wait … that should read one hilarious video (for All the Rage) and an amazingly good record. Their self-titled eight-song album doesn’t do anything innovative or groundbreaking, but it does feature some thrillingly energetic performances, instantly memorable songs and the perfect indie pop vocals of transplanted American Jihae Simmons. Check these two songs and see if they get your blood pumping:

“I Hate Rock & Roll”
“Three’s a Crowd”

Sadly, the band split up the same day the album was released. Simmons moved back home to Los Angeles and hasn’t been heard from since musically, but the rest of the band has carried on in a raft of excellent new projects.

The Sexy Kids
http://www.myspace.com/sexierkids
Closest to the rambunctious sound of the Royal We, they feature sassy female vocals and some quite hooky songcraft. Indeed, “Sisters are Forever” is the kind of track you’ll find yourself humming at odd hours.

Bricolage
http://www.myspace.com/bricolagetheband
Very Glasgow sounding band with an advanced degree in Juice-ology, they released a single on Memphis Industries last year and hopefully will follow it up with an album soon. Check their page for some super-cool live footage of them backing legendary hero of Scot Pop, Vic Godard.

Correcto
http://www.myspace.com/correcto
The most traditionally indie band of the bunch, Correcto feature a Ferdinand and have an album coming soon on Domino. They sound surprisingly much like the Wedding Present at times. Maybe that’s not a very hip band to namecheck these days but for some people, it means a lot! Here’s video proof:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4bYeb6lsRI

Crush Band: The Dynamics

John Bush — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 17:30:36 +0000

No reggae fan really wants to hear something that sounds “dubby.” (Dub yes, “dubby” no.) The best dub, a purist would say, was created by a man, with Jamaican roots, in his home studio — preferably before it caught fire and was destroyed — and certainly not by a pan-European collective like, say, the Dynamics.

Reggae fans are cheating themselves, though, if they don’t check out this group, who have crafted the warmest roots sound since rocksteady was in its heyday. They even have their indie cred checked with a series of 45’s (yes, 45’s) on the Big Single label that are available at Dusty Groove, among other fine sources.

The group’s first album Version Excursions is a near-masterpiece of reggae the way it used to be, and heavy on some of the most ingenious covers in recent memory. A few may be designed to pull in the erstwhile classic-rock fan — the Stones’ “Miss You,” Dylan’s “Lay Lady Lay,” Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” — but there are also a raft of choices much farther out (”The Creator Has a Master Plan,” Curtis Mayfield’s “Move on Up,” Cymande’s “Brothers on the Slide”).

“The Dynamic Sound”

“7 Nation Army”

“Miss You”

“Rockit”

“The Creator Has a Master Plan”

Crush Band: Thermidor

Katherine Fulton — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 19:31:45 +0000

Haunting, unsettling, and utterly fascinating, the music of Thermidor is just one of the many experiments conducted by an artist known as J. Based in Portugal, J. is involved in visual arts and writing as well as music and first performed Thermidor as a live audiovisual project in 2005.

In November 2007, Thermidor released 1929, a limited edition album based on the surrealism of sleep and dreams. The project’s website maintains the theme of the album, including mocked-up newspaper articles that speak of Thermidor’s “disturbed audiences” next to stories about a booming stock market and new scientific theories from Nikola Tesla.

Check the video for “Obituarium” here.