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”

 

 

 

 

Clean Cut Kid - Pick Me Up

1 . Who are this this motley looking crew?

Clean Cut Kid are an indie pop rock band who fight out of Liverpool. They have been on the lam since 2014. Pick Me Up (Feb'16) is a stand alone single and they have three more singles in their swag.

2. So what kind of tune are Clean Cut Kids peddling?

The kind that gets stuck in your brain on repeat god damn it. Like it or loathe it. Pick Me Up sounds like youth tearing it up and to be fair it's hard to connect the song with the faces. The chorus roars along faster than a junkie from the plod and if English guitar indie is your thing this is a bullseye.

3. Who do Clean Cut Kid sound like?

Well bugger me Billy that's a dot ball. King No-One, High Tyde, Circa Waves, Blossoms and Regions will all put you on the right road. You will have to find the right address.

The guitar in Pick Me Up draws comparisons in overheated imaginations with The Clash's English Civil War and in general the song has vague echoes of Billy Joel's piece of pus We Didn't Start The Fire. Don't let it put you off.

Liverpool Noise compared Clean Cut Kid to Angus and Julia, and Beach House. Vampire Weekend twinkled The Line Of Best Fit.

4. So what do the cut and paste jackals have to say about Clean Cut Kid?

Slim pickings. Science of Sound say Pick Me Up has a “... jubilant chorus and sprightly melody lines serve as an injection of pure adrenalin.” Youthgasm heard “a lolloping anthem,” Its All Indie were buzzed by, “Genuine thought provoking lyrics and equally mind pushing compositions treat any listener to a delightful experience.” Popped Music straight batted with “... signature harmonies, skilful guitar licks, bouncing bass lines and super 80's synths.”

In general Clean Cut Kid's music has been described as “... undertones of psychedelic rock and country, but on the whole they deliver truly mesmerising folk melodies that are extremely catchy,” by Liverpool Noise having a laugh. “The whip-smart immediacy of classic radio pop; but there is something much deeper going on in there too,” analysed U Music Pub and “inventive and adventurous art-pop,” plonked Turks Underdog.

 

5. Which bands influence Clean Cut Kid?

Bands that have put the stride in Clean Cut Kid’s step include St Vincent, Peter Gabriel, David Bowie, Talking Heads and Arcade Fire. Front man Mike Hall has said he spent years listening to The Beatles and Michael Jackson. In the Liverpool Echo the band mentioned love for Fleetwood Mac, Arcade Fire and Vampire Weekend. More recently they have been listening to Grimes, Taylor Swift and Youth Lagoon. 

 

6. So why should I listen to Pick Me Up?

 Besides the fact that it's more infectious than a Thai rent boy's shit pump? There's a hint of grit lurking in what could be passed off as only sparkling indie pop. Real rock'n'roll. The song is as advertised, it will pick you as fast as a puff of ice.

 7. Do Clean Cut Kid have any other groovers?

 First stop to getting on the good foot should be Vitamin C. Clean Cut Kid's best song a get happy pop rocker with bubble and bounce.Classy song, great video. That's all I'm having.

 8. Any icing for the cake?

The keyboardist Evelyn Halls is married to the singer and guitarist Mike ... ahhh you get the picture. But y'know, every football team has a goalie but goals still get scored, so follow your crush if you have one Jimmy.

The band were on fluffer duiteis for Years & Years, Circa waves, Brandon Flowers, Rat Boy and The Courteeners in 2015. Keeping good company.

 

“I hear your voice, it cuts like a knife,

hits like a bolt from the blue, Pick Me Up!”

 

 

Slippery seconds is brought to you today by Zibra an indie synth-pop band from London with three short players under their wings. The band have been making music since 2012 and Wasted Days (Oct’16) is their most recent, and most popular, effort.