Summertime Clothes // Dam-Funk Remix

Animal Collective are set to release new single Summertime Clothes, from their brilliant new album Merriweather Post Pavillion, in July. You can hear the Dam-Funk remix of the track here. I think its pretty good although it is super cheeeesey.

Hunting and Gathering // Sunday 31st May

Hunting and Gathering's second installment is this Sunday at Milo and it looks like its going to be super fun. The guys running the night seem to have such a great ethos, running a free night, trying to find new talent and giving them a platform to perform on. The night is not only is there for entertainment but has some more meaning behind it. This month is celebrating 30 years of Hip-Hop but also Metal, Hardcore, Punk and Surf. Although at first this seemed to be a very strange mix I think the connection is meant to be the drive and passion behind the music. Can't wait, see you there.

Releases // Monday 25th May

Theoretical Girl - 'Rivals' from Create Spark on Vimeo.

The beautiful Theoretical Girl releases new single titled 'Rivals'. Although a terribly cheesy video I'm quite fond of the track. Drifting away from more post-punk efforts in the past into more poppier take on post-punk. Enjoy.

MP3:Theoretical Girl - Rivals


The Brian Jonestown Massacre have released a new E.P titled 'Smoking Acid', vinyl limited to just 1000 copies I recomend getting hold of one asap. The E.P features 5 new tracks by the band, much rawer than their previous albums but still the same pcychadelic rock feel but it's been taken more towards shoegaze. Cover artwork is a collaboration between Anton Newcombe & Icelandic artist Jon Samundur Auoarson.

Download the E.P from megaupload here.

Last Week In Leeds

The past week in Leeds has been eventful to say the least with the numerous bands who have played and the opening of the new venue, Nation of Shopkeepers. Very happy to have a day of rest as it's been so hectic. I'm keeping the reviews short due to the number of bands that have played since Wednesday.

Wednesday saw The Iron Wagon hosting an event at TJ's Woodhouse.

Gringo Star: Another band hailing from the Atlanta garage rock scene. Giving a pretty good tight live performance with catchy tunes, I do feel they are just a much more polished poppy version of Black Lips, which looses half the appeal for me.

Times New Viking: A band I haven't always been into but now the third time seeing them I'm totally converted. Their emotional live performances are better than their records, for me the best band of the night.

Mika Miko: The biggest let down of the night. From the few tracks I'd heard I didn't go in expecting much but came out even more disappointed.

Black Lips: Great band that I always expect to give great live performaces. Was slightly dissapointed with them compared to previous times I'd seen them, lead singer Jerard didn't seem to be feeling it (this could have been something to do with a date with the courts the following day). Possibly the reality is the new album just wasn't as 'Good Bad Not Evil' meaning shows on the '200 Million Thousand' tour just aren't as good.

Next up The Pains of Being Pure at Heart on Thursday at Cockpit.

The Manhattan Love Suicides: Didn't catch much of their set but wasn't feeling it at all. Found it pretty boring and monotonous.

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart: Because I love their record so much I was slightly disappointed with their live performance. On record everything that makes it for me is how well produced and perfect sounding it is. Although I appreciate live performances loose a lot of this I got the impression the band aren't that emotionally about the record making them give a soulless performance.

Next up the One day festival Stag and Dagger came to town at various venues across the city. Unfortunately I only managed to see three acts.

Abe Vigoda: What a fantastic start to the night with these guys giving an amazing energetic performance. Playing all my favourite tracks from 'Skeleton' and the new E.P 'Reviver' couldn't asked for anything more.

Vivian Girls: Played to a busy show at the Library. Their Lo-Fi indie rock seemed to go down well with the crowd but most people seemed to be comenting on their beauty rather than their musical talent.

Telepathe: I had heard bad thing about Telepathes shows and so I wasn't surprised to be disapointed. Vocals were out of key, the drum machines sounded totally different to the record and I wasn't quite sure what they were actually doing live apart from triggering drum loops.

Saturday saw the opening of a new venue A Nation of Shopkeepers which is a fantastically decorated Bar/Venue which is going to place you can go in the day and have some food as well a night playing host to DJ's and bands from across the world. Opening night saw DJ sets from Lovefoxx of CSS which wasn't great but saw some decent bands and was a very successful night. I can see myself spending a lot of time and money at this place.

The Old Romantic Killer Band: Just two local guys one on drums the other on guitar playing energetic Blues/Grunge influence rock n' roll. Entertaining to watch and will definetly make the effort to see them again.

Dinosaur Pile-Up: Some more locals lads playing 90's grunge. Wasn't really for me but they knew how the work the crowd who all seemed to really enjoy it.


Sunday saw Deerhunter at the Brudenell.

Monster Killed By Lazer: First support band and I was really impressed dispite making some clear mistakes in the set. I wasn't a fan of everything but and times I was reminded of This Heat and others by MRR-ADM.

Bilge Pump: Really not doing it for me , surprised see they did seem to have some kind of following though.

Sian Alice Group: Again not really doing it for me. They just seemed to have a nice idea which got louder over time, pretty boring to watch.

Deerhunter: Did not dissapoint me in the slightest, although playing more stuff from old album then expected it's only encouraged me to listen to them more. Live are a really tight band and Bradford Cox is an entertaining front man. Doing a 4 track request encore was pretty fun to watch then Bradford did a stand up session at the end of the gig, where he was just playing with the crowd for his own entertainment more than anything.

Last of all was an all-dayer at A Nation of Shopkeepers hosted by Good Form Club. I turned up super early to go to the record fair only to find out it wasn't on, dispite this dissapointment it was a really good day with great DJ sets by Mark from Jumbo Records and Felix from The Golden Owl.

Twisted: Once again was a pleasure to watch these guys play their 'garage punk meets 80s DC post hardcore'. Possibly being slightly out of place on the bill the guys still gave an great show which I certainly enjoyed.

Pengilly's: I was pleasantly surprised seeing these guys play as it isn't something I would normally enjoy. Their multi-instrumental talent was undeniable and a pleasure to watch.

The XX: I was unfortunate enough to have to watch another gig by this band. My opinion remains the same as the post I made a couple weeks ago.

So it was a very hectic week. I'm looking forward to relaxing over the next few days but this weekend there is even more to see and do.

1000 Robota

If you haven't heard this amazing German trio 1000 Robota watch this video about them. I would love to book these guys to play a gig in Leeds, I've heard they are rad live.

Releases // Monday 18th May // This Weeks Events

NEU! one of my favourite bands of all time, are having an album released in tribute to them. The duo, Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother from Dusseldorf formed the band after leaving the electronic pioneers Kraftwerk. NEU! regarded as being the originators of Krautrock had a huge influence on a number of artists. As they were such a huge influnce the album features liner notes from bobby gillespie, lcd soundsystem, School of Seven Bells, Sonic Youth aswell as others. It features unreleased tracks from School of Seven Bells, La Duesseldorf, rare tracks by Oasis, Foals and Holy Fuck awell as a bunch of other bands.

Dinosaur Jr.'s 9th Studio album 'Farm' is released today. Haven't been able to listen to the album yet, however last week the band gave away the track 'I Want You To Know' for free via their website which I enjoyed so hopefully the album will be just as good.

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart release the stand out track 'Young Adult Friction'. It's a brilliant slightly dreamy shoegazey, noise pop song which is irrisistable. You can catch them live at Cockpit on Thursday 21st May.

I'm not going to go into a huge thing about whats going on this week as I've been talking about all the events for the last month. But pretty much the next week is jam packed full great gig.

Wednesday - Black Lips, Mika Milo, Times New Viking, Gringo Star - TJ's Woodhouse Club
Thursday - Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Cockpit
Friday - Stag and Dagger, including Telepathe, Abe Vigoda, Vivian Girls and more - Various Venues
Saturday - Opening of new venue with Dinosaurs Pile Up and Lovefoxx - Nation of Shopkeepers
Sunday - Deerhunter - The Brudenell Social Club
Monday - Twisted and others play Good Form Club - Nation of Shopkeepers

We Fun // Atlanta Scene Documentary

So I just watched this documentary called 'We Fun' which is about the music scene in Atlanta, Georgia and how its changed over recent years. Includes a bunch of interviews with different bands, promoters, journalists and record label owners. If you haven't heard about the Atlanta scene the two bands that have really been a big product of it are Deerhunter and Black Lips. The majority of the film does focus just on the Black Lips but it has introduced me to a few other bands which I'm going to check out.

It's being streamed on the Pitchfork website for one week only so worth a watch. Also seemed pretty relevant as Black Lips play TJ's Woodhouse on Wednesday 20th May and Deerhunter at The Brudenell on the 24th May, can't wait.

Music Without Tears mixed by Passions

This has was posted by the guys over at DiscError a few days ago but I only just got around to listening to it. It's a mixtape being put out by NY based clothing label Mishka and mixed by Brooklyn producer Passions. Titled 'Music Without Tears' it features some obscure post-punk as well as some classics, industrial dance and a bunch of the tracks on the DiscError label, it's certainly worth a listen. It's been acompanied by some amazing artwork from Sandra Chi & Ciaran O’Shea. Download it from the link below.

Mishka Presents - Music Without Tears mixed by Passions

David Byrne // Ipso Facto

Listen to an interesting interview from the legendary David Byrne on Radio 6 here. He talks about his relationship with music, from his early influences to his new musical project 'Playing The Building', which comes to The Roundhouse in London in august. He has also announce a new live E.P titled "Everything That Happens Will Happen on This Tour, David Byrne on Tour: Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno". It features 4 live tracks form his 2008 album with Brian Eno, go to his website to download it. It's also worth going to David's website and downloading his monthly radio shows. The shows lasting 3 hours long focus on different area's of music, the current playlist is made up of tracks where he has collaborated with different artists.

Ipso Facto have uploaded a new track 'You Don't Own Me' to their myspace. It's the first track since keyboardist, Cherish Kaya left the band due to arguments with other members. The band currently playing with a backing track are auditioning for a new keyboardist. The track is a melodramatic pop song where Rosalie's amazing, powerful vocals are really shown. Have a listen.

Releases // Monday 11th May

Neils Children after being together a decade, and coming across a number of obstacles have released a full length album, "X.Enc". The band have put the record out on their own label Structurally Sound and has surprised me how much I've enjoyed listening to it. Previously the only track I knew particularly well was "I Hate Models" which although I have strong nostalgic feelings towards, it wasn't the greatest song. The record as expected sounds very post-punk with tracks like "Sometimes It's Hard To Let Go" but some tracks like "An Exchange" have been fused this with dark atmospheric tribal drums.

MP3:Neils Children - Sometimes It's Hard To Let Go (zShare)
MP3:Neils Children - An Exchange (zShare)


New York's Telepathe and Effi Briest join forces and cover each others tracks for a super limited 7". Telepathe remix Effi Briest's "Mirror Rim" and turn it into their own no wave song with their signature vocals and beats. Effi Briet cover "Chrome's On It" which becomes a spacey psych track which you can lost in. Remember to catch Telepathe at Stag and Dagger on the 22nd May.

Vivian Girls return with new 7" "Moped Girls" and on the flip side "Death". Unfortunately I went to try and buy this today but neither Crash or Jumbo had it, so I still haven't heard it. From what I've read the only place you can get hold of it is Rough Trade. Also if anyone finds MP3's of these tracks link me up please. You can also catch Vivian Girls at Stag and Dagger on the 22nd May.

The Horrors - Who Can Say from IM // UR on Vimeo.

The Horrors first physical single release from the new album is "Who Can Say". It is undeniably a good track, however it is clearly the most commercial song and is their attempt to convert their critics. Music video again by The Jesus and Mary Chain's former member Douglas Hart which is also much more mainstream compared to the fantastic "Sea Within A Sea" video. You can catch them at Cockpit on the 7th June with support from the fantastic Factory Floor.

MP3:The Horrors - Who Can Say(zShare)

Kasms release their debut album "Spayed" today. When i first heard this this band I was quite interested in them, however having heard quite a few tracks I've started to really dislike them. From the tracks I have heard off the album it doesn't look like my opinion will change.

Leeds based label Dance To The Radio last week (4th May 09) released the first of a series of four 12" singles. The first featured Wonderswan, Pulled Apart By Horses, Broadcast Society and Bear Hands. For me the only track that stood out was Wonderswan's "Hey Nature" the calm vocals over scuzzy guitars made me love it. I'm going to need to see these guys live next time they play.

Dave Porter // Clout

A friend of mine used Dave Porter's track 'I'm The Boss' in a short video he made here. The first time I heard it was tonight and I must have played it 20 times already. It's a genius catchy psychedelic folk track which is completely irresistible. Download it below with two other tracks 'Why I Can't Love You' and 'Where Do Cloulds Go,' which are also both great offerings, from I assume a fairly unknown artist due to the lack of coverage on the net.

Dave Porter - I'm The Boss
Dave Porter - Why I Can't Love You
Dave Porter - Where Do Cloulds Go,

Also this is a perfect time to mention this friends current musical project Clout which is him and two other guys. Although only two songs on the myspace the potential these guys have is clearly evident. Very experimental sounding taking influence krautrock, psychedelia and dubstep. Have a listen here.

Also check out the new spotify playlist for some krautrock gems.

Releases // Monday 4th May

'Primary Colours' the new album from The Horrors has been one of the most talked about albums of this year so far. The band have gone in a very different direction to their debut album, 'Strange House' which I wasn't a big fan of. Often being blamed of being image over substance but with his new record have really shown any doubters that they are very talented musicians. The album has been described as been a 'record collectors' album which isn't surprising considering the vast collection of records these guys have. You can see very distinct parts taken from My Bloody Valentine and Joy Division. The first track they released 'Sea Within A Sea' could be argued as being a rip off of krautrock legends Can's 'Mother Sky' and 'Scarlet Fields' of the Swiss band Grauzone's track 'Eisbär' download them below and listen yourself. Although I do have my criticisms the album is by far the best of 09 so far.

The Horrors - Scarlet Fields
Grauzone - Eisbär
The Horrors - Sea Within A Sea
CAN - Mother Sky



For any record collectors it might be worth mentioning that Radiohead have re-issued a bunch of their records check out the full list over at Rough Trade.

The New Thing // 005 Podcast

The New Thing is one of my favourite blogs. Based in London and blogging about "post-punk / noise / experimental / electronic / psych SOUNDS". They have a knack of finding the best new bands before anyone else, recently tipping bands like The Neat and White Rogue both worth listening to.

They have just posted on their blog a link to their latest podcast which includes as eclectic mix of new bands and some obscure post-punk. Apart from his very dull monotone voice it's a good listen. Download it from the TNT blog

Dinosaur Jr // Free Download

Dinosaur Jr in anticipation of the release of their new album 'Farm' due out on June 22nd are giving away a free download of the track, "I Want You to Know". Download it below.

Dinosaur Jr. - I Want You to Know

Heartbreak // Vice Mini Mix

Italo-Disco duo Heartbreak have recorded a mini mix for Vice Magazine called “Grandes Exitos de Ayer y Hoy”. It's full of great disco tracks and they even dropped The Horrors new single 'Sea Within A Sea'. Remember to catch Heartbreak on the 'NME Radar' tour on 7th May at Cockpit, the other acts on the bill may be terrible but it would be worth it so see Heartbreak perform live.

Check out the mini mix here.

Releases // Monday 27th April

S.C.U.M SIGNAL (1) 'WARSAW' from S.C.U.M on Vimeo.

London wonder boys S.C.U.M release their second single online today. 'Warsaw' it is the first of a number of releases under the title 'Signals'. The track is dark, mesmerising and totally brilliant. Remember you can catch them live on Wednesday 29th at Josephs Well which should not be missed. They may also be supported by An Experiment On a Bird In The Air Pump but this hasn't been confirmed on the bands myspace.


R O M A N C E are one of my favourite bands around currently. About to go on a U.K tour with The White Rose Movement and Ulterior so if you can make it to one their shows I definitely would. Currently you can buy a E.P from their myspace. The E.P contains three great songs with post-punk guitars with the most fantastic powerful vocals.

Threat Manifesto // Twisted // 25th April

Threat Manifesto. Photo: Jon Mohajer

"Garage punk meets 80s DC post hardcore" - I'm not going to pretend to know what that really means but apparently that's what Twisted play, and I like it. Twisted are a new band in Leeds and last night saw them play the Peanut Gallery in the Leeds University Union; a collaboratively run, free space that seems the perfect setting for a gig like this. Twisted gave a fantastic high energy performance, playing songs from their first EP 'Daydreams' (which can be downloaded for free here) as well as some very promising new tracks.

Threat Manifesto are a hardcore punk band from South Wales who after spending the day 'soaking up Leeds' gave a fairly shambolic performance. They were enjoyable none the less though; their passion and energy easily making up for any sloppiness.

Twisted have a few more gigs lined up in the next couple of weeks:

• 3rd May- Brudenell Social Club, Leeds (w/ Human Hair)
• 8th May- The Packhorse, Leeds (w/ Navvy)

The Breeders // Fate To Fatal E.P

Fate to Fatal from The Breeders on Vimeo.

The Breeders have come a long way since forming back in 1988 with Kim Deal of the Pixies and Tanya Donelly of Throwing Muses. Now after many line-up changes it mainly consists of Katie Deal and twin sister Kelley Deal. They are probably best know for their single hit single 'Cannonball' released in 1993. No longer aiming for chart success with they previous experimental records. Their new E.P 'Fate to Fatal' is fantastic and for me hard to understand how anyone could dislike it. The video of for the title track can be seen above, the other 3 tracks on the E.P are much more relaxed and a great listen. The very limited edition vinyl E.P released on 4AD has already sold out. You can catch The Breeders live at All Tomorrows Parties on the 14th, 15th and 16th May.

MP3:The Breeders - Fate To Fatal (zShare)

The Big Pink // The XX // A Grave With No Name

If you were lucky enough to be a The Cockpit last night you would have witnessed one of the best gigs I've been to in ages. First up was Mt.Jade's A Grave With No Name, their opening track full on feedback didn't set high expectations for the rest of the set. However after short 5 song set I had been totally won over their lead singers soothing voice coming from through the discordant sounds reminding me of 90's grunge and shoegaze. Can't wait for more releases from these boys. You can see the music video for their track 'The Underpass' above.

The XX although not being a particularly big fan, their live performance with still disappointing. The every song had the same MPC drumbeat, guitar riffs and dull vocals. After having enjoyed the previous band so much it was a total buzz kill.

Headliners The Big Pink brought the standard back. Opening with their first single 'Too Young To Love' and continued with a scuzzy, drone, wall of sound powered by twin keyboards, bass and solid drums. But you would still drift away in the melody and vocals. Their performance relying on lighting and smoke machines just added to the atmosphere of the music making it a complete aural and visual pleasure. You could understand all the hype in the media about this band. Remember to download their latest single in the post below.

Releases // Monday 20th April

The Legendary Sonic Youth have launched the first MP3 from their new album 'The Eternal' due to be released on 8th June. The track is titled 'Sacred Trickster' and is a great signature hardcore Sonic Youth track and is my favourite song they have released in the last 5 years. Which makes 'The Eternal' which will be the bands 16th album looks promising. The band play a secret show on the 27th April at The Scala, London and have been confirmed for the My Bloody Valentine-curated ATP Nightmare Before Christmas to be held at Butlins, December 4th - 6th, 2009.

MP3:Sonic Youth - Sacred Trickster (zShare)


The Big Pink who have been named the band to watch in 09 so far have not disappointed. Their second single 'Velvet' is a loud, dirty, shoegaze epic track. Available from their new label 4ad on limited 7". Remember you can catch the London lads playing tonight at The Cockpit with support from favourites A Grave With No Name who are over from the U.S. You can download the single below and a remix by New York's experimental group Gang Gang Dance.

MP3: The Big Pink - Velvet (zShare)
MP3: The Big Pink - Velvet (Gang Gang Dance Remix) (zShare)

Remember to check out this weeks playlist on spotify here.