OK Go - Interesting Drug

1. Who are OK Go? 

OK Go are an indie rock band from Chicago, Illinois. Playing together since 1998 they have recorded four albums. Interesting Drug (Jan'17) is a stand alone single. 


2. What kind of tune is it? 

Interesting Drug is a Morrissey cover that's been funked up with OK Go's 80's pop vibe and a lilting ska-esque undertone. A laid back, gently bouncy, tune to accompany a stinging rebuke. 


3. Who do OK Go sound like?

The Smiths, Two Door Cinema and Modest Mouse.


4. What have the press said about Interesting Drug? 

“Eerily fitting to the current political climate” – Under The Radar.

“OK Go blast Trump” – Vanyaland. 

“A steady rocking anti-Trump anthem” – Rolling Stone.

5. Which bands influenced OK Go? 

Some of their biggest influences are Michael Jackson, Prince, Talking Heads, New Order and David Bowie. 


6. Why should I listen to Interesting Drug?

Because one of the greatest musician's to ever walk God's green earth wrote the song and this great band made it better. 


7. What are OK Go's best songs? 

There is a wealth to choose from. The synthy white boy funk of I Won't Let You Down is king. What an ass shaker. This Too Shall Pass is melancholic happiness. Get Over It rocks. 


8. Any more words? 

OK Go's singer Damian Kulash said, “No matter how anxious or angry you are, try to turn your passion into something good for the world. We’re in this together.”

“There are some bad people on the rise”

Young Romance are an indie pop rock band from London, England. They are a duo and started playing together in 2012. Young Romance sound like The Primitives, Best Coast or Bleached. Pale (2014) is from their debut album Another's Blood (2016). Pale is two minutes of achingly beautiful vocals laid over some gritty fucking guitar and crashing drums. It'll get you by the short and curlies.

“Oh there was a night, long ago,

When I fell from grace”

Two Door Cinema Club - Bad Decisions

1.    Who are they? 

Two Door Cinema Club are an indie pop/funk band from Bangor, Northern Ireland. Bad Decisions (July’16) is the second single from their third album Gameshow (Oct’16). 

2. What have they served up? 

Bad Decisions is fat, funky, indie-pop dancefloor filler. Very 80's pop.

3. Who do Two Door Cinema sound like?

Prince, Scissor Sisters and The 1975. 

4. What have the muppets in the press said about Bad Decisions?

“80’s nostalgia fueled sound” – Your EDM. 

“Feel-good disco-tipped dancefloor peak” – Mix Mag.

“A groovy, disco track with a pulsating bass line” – Babble Music. 

 

5. Which bands have influenced Two Door Cinema Club? 

Some of the band's main influences are Prince, David Bowie, Daft Punk, Stevie Wonder and Death Cab For Cutie. 

6. Why should I give Bad Decisions a spin? 

It'll get you shaking your ass. 

7. What are the best Two Door Cinema songs? 

Beacon is the best. Something Good Can Work is chippy indie pop and nice. Sun has a killer chorus and a little assist from the horns and I Can Talk isn't too shabby. 

8. Any more words pal? 

The album Gameshow was produced by Jacknife Lee who has worked with Twin Atlantic, U2, Silversun Pickups, Bloc Party and Weezer.

“I’ve been drinking wine,

And I just made a big mistake”

Walking On Cars are an alternative rock band from Dingle, Ireland. Walking On Cars are similar to The Script, Kodaline, The Coronas and Bastille. They are influenced by The Lumineers, Ben Howard and Coldplay. Walking On Cars debut album Everything This Way (Jan'16) went to number one in Ireland and Speeding Cars (Oct'15) was an international hit single.  Fortitude Magazine described Speeding Cars as “a gorgeous track with stunningly deep lyrics backed by haunting piano work and perfected with a ridiculously catchy chorus.”

“So if I stand in front of a speeding car,

Would you tell me who  you are, what you like”

Zibra - Eclipse

1.    Who is this smooth looking crew?

Zibra are an indie pop band from Tottenham, London. Eclipse (July’15) off the short player E.P. 2000 (2015).  See what they did there? Clever. The official YouTube video for Eclipse was released March'16.

2. What kind of tune are Zibra touting?

Eclipse has all the big electronic power of 80’s pop with more bounce than a porn stars tits. 

3. Who do Zibra sound like?

Tears For Fears. Interview Magazine is feeling BORNS and Year & Years. The Liverpool Echo made comparisons to Duran Duran.

4. What have the cut and paste merchants got to say?

 “Another snapshot of the band’s signature stadium-sized chorus chants, clattering guitars and punchy, anthemic riffs” – The Beat Manifesto.

 

5. Which bands influenced Zibra?

The bands that put the polish on Zibra’s boots are Oasis, Ocean Color Scene, Depeche Mode, Cabaret Voltaire and The Human League. There is talk of some love for Slaves, Caribou and Sleigh Bells and of punk influnces.

 
6. Why should I give Eclipse a whip past the ears?

Eclipse is a massive electronic pop song that rolls heavy and slow but is an avalanche of sound that annihilates everything before it.

7. Do Zibra have any more big swingers?

The best Zibra songs are Wasted Days and Paris. Brilliant both.

8. Any more words?

Zibra have been out on the road supporting bands like Rat Boy, Coasts, Years & Years and Sunset Sons.

Zibra have mad love for Doc Marten boots.

Zibra's favorite song is The Human League's Don't You Want Me Baby.

 

“Stop and try again!”

 

 

 

 

 

Dessert is a song that never received the fame and acclaim it deserved until after the singer had died aged 30 taking a spontaneous swim, wearing clothes, in the Mississippi River. Hallelujah (1994) is a song Jeff Buckley made his own in the same, but opposite way, Johnny Cash infamously claimed Nine Inch Nail’s Hurt (2002). Number three on Triple J's Hottest Songs Of All Time Hallelujah was called “as near perfect as you can get.”

“And it's not a cry that you hear at night,

It's not somebody who's seen the light,
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah”

 

 

 

 

Alex Vargas - Shackled Up

1.   Who is this relaxed looking dude?

Alex Vargas is an electronic soul singer from Horsholm, Denmark, who fights out of London, England. Mr Vargas has one long player and two short players in the shops. Shackled Up (Jan'16) shuffles off the short player Giving Up The Ghost (Jan'16).

2. What kind of tune is the man peddling?

Shackled Up is a smooth as a babbies bottom vocal driven, soulful number with a mellow pop that forces the focus on the singer and the lyrics. Top shelf.

3. Who is Alex Vargas similar to?

Phil Collins. Ha ha. 

Indietronica are the go to here Jack Garratt, Galant, TENDER, Wolffe, Lucas Nord. When The Horn Blows were minded of the Lost Frequencies tune Are You With Me. Ben Khan and Nonne say Pigeons and Planes.

4. What do the stout defenders of good taste have to tell us about Shackled Up?

“Sleek rhythm and blues, disjointed electronics, alt pop and soulful vocals” -  WhenThe Horn Blows.

“Searing pop polemic, 'Shackled Up' is deftly melodic yet cuts straight to the core” - Clash Music.
 

“Slick, left-field production with jaw dropping vocals and unashamedly massive melodies” - Indie Tronica.

 

 

5. So who are the soul man’s influences?

Sam Cook, Aretha Franklin and Jeff Buckley are the old school answers and D'Angelo, Flying Lotus and Hiatus Kaiyote on the street.

6. Why should I give this smooth crooners number a spin?

The backing vocals are eerie. The song knocks you off your stride. It doesn't feel right. The need for satisfaction is intense. Shackled Up is personal, no piece of radio puff.

7. Does Alex Vargas have any more of these startlers?

Check out Till Forever Runs. Fucking amazing falsetto voice.

8. Any more words of wisdom?

Alex Vargas was in the band Vagabond before striking out on his tod.

Alex Vargas has pulled fluffer duties for Jack Garratt.

 

“Sure we lose our heads at the break of dawn,

And the bombs fall, we’re still in drakness”

 

 

 

 

Slippery seconds is given up by indie pop rocker Bec Sandridge. She has two short players in the bank but In The Fog In The Flame (July'15) is a stand alone single. Inspired by Cyndi Lauper, Kate Bush and Blondie, it tells, and a  bloke who blew hot and cold.

“Because I feel the little stains,
In my heart, in my hands”