There was a time when bands like Lush, Ride and Pale Saints worked feedback into luscious channels, on which the voices of real grrrls and guys would float; clouds of sound and uncut fringes providing a Brechtian distancing effect from the fragility of feeling in their lyrics. Ex-pat Canadian, Jennie Vee, has given new life to the style with a near-perfect debut solo EP. Die Alone is a five-track download on Bandcamp, and we struggled to pick a single track to highlight. In the end, “Wicked” wins out, because it has a video that doubles as a travelogue of EC1 with a sleek, stylish soundtrack.
Track of the Day
John Fryer has a long history making and shaping music. Look on the back of the sleeves of the most important releases from the Mute or 4AD stables from the 1980s and his name will probably pop up as an engineer or producer. Speak and Spell? He was there. Upstairs at Erics? Yep. Head Over Heels? Check. Pump Up the Volume? Mmm-hmm. Not to mention his work in This Mortal Coil and The Hope Blister, nor his role in putting Nine Inch Nails over the top. Fryer’s been at the coal face when musical history was made so many times that it’s of immense interest when he has a new project to share. In this case, it’s a shiny, dark number with Pinky Turzo on vocals, layering delicate and spiky sounds like the finest muslin draped over thistles. Silver Ghost Shimmer cite 1960s pop acts like The Shangri Las as influences, but they have a post-punk pedigree like no other.
So, if 70s glam rock icon and object of Fonzie’s affection, Leather Tuscadero (ok, Suzi Quatro, but that’s how we best remember her), made a version of Daniel Miller’s first single, what would you expect it to sound like? Lots of guitars, some feedback, a stomping beat? Nope.
Githead are back with their fourth album, Waiting for a Sign, ready for release on 8 December 2014. As a preview, the four-piece ensemble have made “Bringing the Sea to the City” available through Soundcloud. With the line-up of Wire’s Colin Newman, Minimal Compact’s Malka Spigel and Max “The Carpenter” Franken, as well as Robin Rimbaud (aka Scanner), Githead are a fusion of styles and influences like no other. “Bringing…” is an elegant, summery track with the sumptuousness of shoegaze but signs of a new wave bloodline.
Swedish DJ Sandra Mosh is best known as the current host of Sveriges Radio’s avant-garde Elektroniskt programme. Her own musical efforts are more mainline than the experimental compositions that dominate Elektroniskt, and it is no surprise that Ms Mosh has been active on the European DJ scene since 2008 and presenting dance music sets on another show, Musikguiden. With “Skallgång,” she launches MOSH Music, and straight out of the gate the template is set for a classy, danceable affair.
If you want to attract fans, naming yourself after “the third worst poetry in the universe” might not be a great idea. You could do worse, however, than ask Johan Baeckström from Daily Planet to give you a Yazoo-infused makeover and borrow some NRG from Machinista’s Richard Flow. Then, no one would expect a recitation dedicated to a “freddled gruntbuggly” (cover your ears), but an up-tempo, bouncy slice of synthpop. As it is.
The trio of Analog Angel make some intelligent darkwave sounds, and “Drive” is an exemplary, forceful track that warrants repeated listening. From 2014’s Trinity album, it’s dark poptronica in a similar vein to Covenant, matching great synth sounds with sleek, elegant vocals. Guest vocalist Tracy J Cox’s lines float behind John Brown’s, while tense, pulsing waveforms are sculpted by keyboardists Ian Ferguson and Derek MacDonald. Not to be missed.
For more great reading about Analog Angel, see this interview at The Electricity Club.
Way back in 2007, London-based duo, Komputer, released this track as part of an online-only EP release. A different version appeared on the Mute sampler, 14 Irregular Files. It’s the kind of Kraftwerk-inspired material that Komputer successfully took up after shedding their I Start Counting skin, and it’s as sleek as a black panther in the rain.