Lisbon - Shark

1.    Who are these men of music?

Lisbon are an alternative pop band from Newcastle, England. Playing together since 2012 these troopers have an EP and a handful of singles on their roll of honor. Shark (April'16) is a stand alone single as yet.


2. What have they got?

A sense of urgency and a big serve for the music industry. Shark comes on strong with guitars at full roar and then settles into full throttle pop rock. Full tit to the end and sound as a pound.


3. Who do Lisbon sound like?

Shark is similar to songs by Kassassin Street, Shields and High Tyde. Never Enough Notes compared Shark to The Xcerts.


4. What have the cut and paste bandits said about Shark?

“Thunderous percussion and crunching guitars” – Euphoriazine.

“Exhibits a heavier side of Lisbon” – Indie Is Not A Genre.

“It’s as explosive as they come” – Rock Revolver.

5. Which bands have put the bang in Lisbon’s buck?

Some of the bands that Lisbon like are Foals, Little Comets, Michael Jackson, Tame Impala and Wolf alice.


6. Why should I give Shark a lash?

Shark is the sound of frustration, a full-fledged vent, both lyrically and musically, that is elevated by it's angry immediacy.


7. Do Lisbon have any more boilers?

Vice is funky, slinky, infectious pop.
 

8. Any more words?

Frontman for Lisbon, Matthew Varty, said, “Shark depicts the struggle young bands have nowadays to make a name for themselves in the music industry.”

Shark was produced by Dan Austin who has been on the job for Twin Atlantic, The Pixies, Stornoway and Surfer Blood amongst others.

“The sharks can smell our fear”

 

 

 

Surfer Blood are an indie rock band from West Palm Beach, Florida. Making tunes since 2009 they have three albums in the vault. Demon Dance is track one off the second album Pythons (2013). Pythons was recorded by Pixies producer Gil Norton with equipment lent by Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago. Surfer Blood have been described by Rolling Stone as “indie meets grunge” and compared to Weezer and Pavement by Pitchfork. 

“I can suck the venom from your bones”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lemaitre - Closer

1. Who are they?

Lemaitre are an indie electronic band from Oslo, Norway, who fight out of Los Angeles.  The duo have been together since 2010 and have six EP’s to their name. Closer (June’15) bubbled off their latest short player 1749 (Jan’16).

 

2. What have they got?

Closer soars on vocalist Jennie A's smooth vocals and bangs with fat bass and sassy brass. An indie pop banger with a side of electronica that will get the dead dancing.

 

3.  Who do Lemaitre sound like?

Daft Punk and Chemical Brothers.

 

4. What have the press said about Closer?

“Electrifying mix of bass lines and brass” – Blushing Panda.

“A funky, trumpet filled vibe fest you can’t help but groove to” – Fist In The Air.

“A piano and horn combo that will light a fire of swagger in your belly” – The Burning Ear.
 

 

5. Which bands have put Lemaitre on the good foot?

The main Lemaitre influences are Daft Punk, Boys Noize, Crystal Castles, Ratatat, Justice and Deadmau5.

 

6. Why should I give Closer a bash?

Closer is sweet love at first sight and bounces big.
 

7. Do Lemaitre have any more good un’s?

High Tide is white boy funky.

 

8. Any more words?

Lemaitre like playing Minecraft and skateboarding.

 

“Oh I dream of the lazy days”

 

 

 

Pegase are a French indie dream pop band. Playing together since 2008 they have one long player in the vault. Well Bell sashays off their second album Another World (May'16). Well Bell is an infectious, dreamy, pop number that drifts by like puffy white clouds on a light breeze of a summers day. Paris Match thought Well Bell is “rhythmic and punchy.” Bit random.

“The fire walks with me”

 

 

 

 

America's 3 Hottest Punk Bands At The Minute In 3 Songs

1.    Sheer Mag - Nobody's Baby.

Sheer Mag burn out of Philadelphia and have three short players to their name. Nobody's Baby (March'16) is off the third EP III (March'16). Pitchfork said Nobody's Baby has “hip shaking hooks and burly riffs” and Brooklyn Vegan hailed it as “a fiery, punchy mission statement with a sing-along chorus.”

 

Sheer Mag have been compared to MC5 and Thin Lizzy. Sheer Mag's main influences are Drive-In, Bear Vs Shark, Thin Lizzy, Meatloaf and Fleetwood Mac. Sheer Mag marry seventies classic rock riffs to a roaring punk engine and Nobody's Baby's fiery vocals are belted out with furious indignation. A treasure.

 

“Wanting you so bad it hurts”

 

 

 

 
2. Public Access TV - In Love And Alone.

 

 

Public Access TV are from New York City and have one short player and a few singles behind them. In Love And Alone (Nov'15) is a double A side single. NME declared their love for the band saying they have “already proved the goldmine of rock’n’roll classics has yet to run dry” and DIY hailed In Love And Alone as “their most unhinged, all-out rock’n’roll single yet.”

 

Public Access TV sound like The Ramones, The Strokes and Palma Violets. Their main influences are The Strokes, Johnny Thunders, Lou Reed, Interpol and The Ramones. Public Access TV bring the urgency of punk to more complex post-punk melodies. In Love And Alone  is raw and modern, has grit and polish, the sound of the soccer stadium emptying into the fine city streets.

 

“She is lost and she is scared now,

I should ask myself why and how”

 

 

 

3.    PARTYBABY - Your Old Man.

 

 

 

PARTYBABY are from Los Angeles and have three big singles on their roll of honor. Your Old Man (Oct'15) was the second of these massive missives. The Fat Angel Sings said Your Old Man is “an intoxicating blend of frazzled punk and impossibly infectious melodic refrains” and DIY reckoned it is “snarling punk rock with a tab of anthemia.”

 

PARTYBABY have been compared to FIDLAR and SWMRS. The band's influences are band like Everclear, Primal Scream and SWMRS. Noah Gersh was a member of Portugal. The Man and Jamie Shefman is most famous for engineering and producing for 30 Seconds To Mars. PARTYBABY elevate their garage punk attack with soaring glam rock and pop sensibilities. Your Old Man blows out the cobwebs.

 

“Does he understand what we do on the weekends?”

 

 

 

 



Garbage - Empty

1.    Who are these indie heroes?

Garbage are an alternative rock band from Madison, Wisconsin, but fight out of Los Angeles. The producer Butch Vig, immortalized by his work on Nirvana’s Nevermind and The Smashing Pumpkin’s Siamese Dream, plays drums. Garbage have been making music since 1993, sold over 17 million albums, and Empty (April’16) is the lead single from their sixth album Strange Little Birds (June’16).


2. What’s up for grabs?

Empty is an introspective grunge rocker that takes flight in the chorus.


3. Who are Garbage similar to?

White Lung.


4. What have the press said about Empty?

“Packed with 90’s nostalgia and meaty guitar chords” – Baeble Music.

“Sumptuous production value that doesn’t sacrifice the band’s grunge roots” – Nerdist.

“Razor sharp guitars wind up and cut through gauzy drums” – Consequence Of Sound.
 

5. Which bands put the bang in Garbage’s buck?

The main Garbage influences are Patti Smith, Massive Attack, Tricky, Portishead and My Bloody Valentine.

6. Why should I give Empty a crack?

Empty is the sound of a band going back to it's roots in powerful grunge pop. An established act coming out swinging for park.

7. Do Garbage have any more stellar tracks?

Stupid Girl and Only Happy When It Rains are the classics.
 

8. Any more drivel?

Singer Shirley Manson said recording on their own label freed them from typical restraints and, “A lot of this record was drawn upon what we were listening to growing up.”

 

“I rail and I ache

At the monsters and the demons”

 

The Meat Puppets are an alternative rock band from Phoenix, Arizona. Starting in 1980 they are still going strong and have fifteen long players on their roll of honor. The Meat Puppets became mainstream famous because of being one of Kurt Cobain's favorite bands and two band members performed on Nirvana's iconic final recording MTV Unplugged. The single Backwater is The Meat Puppet's most successful song, reaching number two on the Billboard Rock Charts, and came from their most successful album Too High To Die (1994). Backwater is classic grunge with a riff everyone loves.

 

“In the backwater swirling

There is something that’ll never change”

 

 

 

 

 

The Anchoress - Popular

1.    Who is this lass?

The Anchoress is Catherine Anne Davies an indie pop singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer who fights out of Buckinghamshire, England, by way of Glynneath, Wales. Popular (Oct’15) bounces off The Anchoress's debut album Confessions Of A Romance Novelist (Jan’16).


2. What’s spinning?

Popular is bouncy, piano assisted, pure pop. Both languid and spritely and with a smidgeon of lyrical depth.


3. Who does The Anchoress sound like?

MisterWives and Gwen Stefani. The Guardian compared Popular to Marina and The Diamonds.


4. What have the press said about Popular?

“It’s unconventional” – The Line Of Best Fit.

“Pleasant pop” – The Guardian.

“Cerebral” – Clash Music.

 

5. Which bands have put the pop in The Anchoress’s music?

Catherine Anne Davies major influences are PJ Harvey, David Bowie, Prince, Kate Bush and The Carpenters.

 
6. Why should I give Popular a play?

Popular is pop done well and evokes playground politics.


7. Does The Anchoress have any more bubbly ones?

Popular finds her at the peak of her powers.


8. More words?

Confessions Of A Romance Novelist was recorded with Paul Draper from Mansun.

In 2015 Catherine Anne Davies played in the Simple Minds live band.

 

 

“And I like to read about the girls that lost their heads and their minds”

 

 

It would be rude to go past Simple Minds for dessert. Simple Minds are a post-punk band from Glascow, Scotland. Formed in 1977 they have over eighteen albums and are still going strong. Alive and Kicking was a US number one and came from the band's most successful album Once Upon A Time (1985) and was called by Spin, “an ornate epic.”

 

“What you gonna do when things go wrong?”

 

 

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats - Need Never Grow Old

1.    Who are these stormtroopers of rock’n’roll?

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats are a soul rock'n'roll band from Denver, Colorado. Nathaniel Rateliff has released albums in various guises since 2007. I Never Need Get Old (March'16) is the third single from Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats debut album Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats (August'15).


2. What have they got?

I Need Never Get Old is an instant soul classic.

 
3. Who do Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats sound like?

I Need Never Get Old sounds like Van Morrison and Booker T. and The M.G's.


4. What have the press said about Need Never Get Old?

“An energetic and soulful anthem, a punch in the face” – Whats The Ruckus.

“Belts out the lyrics with sweaty abandon” – Paste Magazine.

“A tune that literally makes you want to stomp you feet (or start a bar brawl) –Buzz IE.

 

 5. Which bands have sown the magic?

Nathaniel Rateliff's main influences are The Platters, The Moon Glows, Sam and Dave, The Allman Brothers and Booker T and The MG's.


6. Why should I give Need Never Get Old a twirl?

Need Never Get Old is exuberant soul with all the bells and whistles. Instantly lovable and raucous.


7. Do Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats have any more belters?

S.O.B. (Son Of A Bitch) is catchy, anthemic, vintage soul.


8. Any more words pilgrim?

The debut album Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats was produced by Richard Swift who has put his shoulder to the wheel for Andrew Bird, Ray LaMontagne and Generationals.

“I needed to try,

Needed to fall”

 

Valerie June is a blues/soul/gospel singer and songwriter from Memphis, Tennessee. Making music since 2000 she has four long players on her roll of honor. You Can't Be Told was one of two singles to come rambling off her most successsful fourth album Pushin' Against A Stone (2013) a top ten Billboard Rock Album, produced by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys and showcases a talent Exclaim said “is a major talent with unlimited potential.”

“Spent his whole life running,

Trying to make it tomorrow”