The Magic Gang - How Can I Compete

1.    Who are The Magic Gang? 

The Magic Gang are an indie pop rock band from Brighton, England. They have been playing together since 2013 and have recorded two E.P's. How Can I Compete (Feb'17) is a stand alone single for now but a third E.P. is promised for April. 

2. What kind of song is How Can I Compete? 

How Can I Compete is bouncy, bubbly and juvenile pop rock. Sticky as a plumbers crack in summer though. Breezy, feel good, nonsense. 

3. Who do The Magic Gang sound like? 

Weezer-lite, Wolf Alice and The Big Moon. 

4. What have the puppets in the press said about How Can I Compete?

“A big ol’ arms-round-yer-mate moment” – DIY.

“Bouncy, infectious” – The Edge. 

“Jagged college-rock guitars and pounding drums” – Redbrick. 

5. Which bands put the bang in The Magic Gang? 

Some of their main influences are The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Oasis, Queen and Joy Division. 

6. Why should I listen to How Can I Compete? 

Because you like old time rock'n'roll. 


7. What are the best The Magic Gang songs?

All This Way is sweet whimsy with a killer chorus. Jasmine is all shuffling melody and handclaps. Check out the singalong of the chorus in the breakdown. No Fun is a grungy rocker. Pixies meets Weezer by way of Nirvana. 

8. Any more words muppet?

Hugo White of The Maccabees produced How Can I Compete. 

“Exit out the same way you came”

The Smith Street Band are an iconic punk band from Melbourne, Australia. They have been playing together since 2010 and have recorded four albums. They sound similar to PUP, The Drones, Against Me! and The Hard Aches. The Smith Street Band are influenced by Bruce Springsteen, Paul Kelly and Billy Bragg. They recorded a song in 2015 called Wipe That Shit-Eating Grin Off Your Punchable Face protesting the Australian Prime Minister and his policies to asylum seekers. Proceeds went to asylum seekers. The Smith Street Band's fourth album More Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me (April'17) has spawned two great singles already, Death To The Lads (Nov'16) and Birthdays (Feb'17). Both songs feature the exceptionally honest story-telling qualities of the songwriting, and attention to detail, that set The Smith Street Band's music apart from the others. 2017 will bring better songs than Birthdays but none that are better written, that's for fucking sure.

“Spent the morning cleaning my room”

The So So Glos - Dancing Industry

1.    Who are these hard chargers?

The So So Glos are a punk band from Brooklyn, New York, started in 2007. Dancing Industry (Feb’16) is the second single from their third album Kamikaze (Sept’16).

2. What's the low down on Dancing Industry? 

The tune comes bouncing out of the traps at heartbeat pace, with a fire truck siren sense of urgency and an anthemic gang chorus. Light, upbeat, passionate and joyous.

3. Who do The So So Glos sound like? 

A mix of The Clash, The Ramones and The Strokes. 

4. What's the good word from the press?

“Brilliantly uplifting tune” – Kerrang.

“Giddy and scuzzy” – Stereogum.

 

“Charged up” – Consequence Of Sound. 

5. Which bands ignited The So So Glos' fire?

Some of the bands that have influenced The So So Glos are The Clash, The Sex Pistols, Nirvana, Green Day and The Kinks.

6. Why should I give Dancing Industry a crack?

There is a fresh energy to Dancing Industry, with it's combination of frenetic punk rhythms and garage band, that equals the best new thing at the minute.

7. Do The So So Glos have any more bangers?

Missionary bangs a bit harder.

8. Any more words?

Kamikaze was recorded with John Reis (Rocket From The Crypt) and Mike Mogis (Rilo Kiley).

 “If you’re gonna keep up you’re gonna have to dance,

And drive an ambulance at the same time”

Larrikin Love were a London indie rock band that played music with elements of punk, reggae, folk and calypso. They lasted from 2005 - 2007 and were most often compared to The Clash, The Libertines and The Pogues. The bands biggest inspiration was The Waterboys. The band only released one album The Freedom Spark (2006) and it had the band's most popular song Happy Annie which broadens out from the reckless speed of the start into a swinging Dexy's Midnight Runners' Come On Eileen-esque barn burner.

“Children please beware,

I’m choked with fear”

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”

 

 

 

 

Nevermen - Mr Mistake

1.   Who are these sketchy bastards?

Nevermen are an electronic art rock band comprised of Mike Patton (singer for Faith No More,Mr Bungle, Tomahawk), Tunde Adebimpe (TV On The Radio singer) and rapper Doseone (Anticon, cLOUDDEAD). Nevermen started making music together in 2008 and have released one long player, the self-titled Nevermen (Jan'16). Mr Mistake (Dec'15) is the second single to bounce off Nevermen.


2. So what kind of groove are Nevermen peddling?

A mellow indie hip-hopper with fizz. Vocally driven fluffy fun that bounces like an Eskimo's bum making love in the snow. There is a bit of niggle in it, because Mr Mistake is a caustic riposte to the ripoff record industry, that gives Mr Mistake some friction.


3. Who do Nevermen sound like?

Nevermen have the humor of Chiddy Bang, Regurgitator's or TISM's.

MXDWN think Mr Mistake sounds like a Tune-Yards song and Echoes and Dust compared Mr Mistake to a Gorillaz song, Plastic Beach era.

Mr Patton has said, “If you are looking for a ‘genre-flag’, then keep looking.” Exclaim thought Nevermen music is, “as unsurprisingly eclectic as the backgrounds of the musicians making it.”  Rollingstone made a comparison to Animal Collective and Pitchfork to Flobots.

4. What is the good word from the cut and paste vultures?

Under The Radar were succinct, Mr Mistake is a “bouncy single.” Mr Mistake evokes the aesthetic of off-kilter rock groups say Stereogum. “A burst of industrial-flavoured noise before falling into a more upbeat indie-electronica sound,” reckon Exclaim. “Definitely works,” stated Clash Music.

On the topic of the album Nevermen, Ipecac hear “a wild, weird churn of rock, pop, rap, soul, and other,” Clash Music hailed “an intriguing collision of three enormously creative people, and this has resulted in a plethora of new ideas,” and MXDWN noted “much of the album is experimental rap and hip hop.”

5. Who are Nevermen influenced by?

The trio avoid this question like gutter trash with ice scabs. Doseone threw out Diamond Dave Hosley and Mike Patton went with Electric Light Orchestra in an interview with The Skinny.

6. Why should I listen to Mr Mistake?

The fun sweats off this Nevermen song. Three men who don't give a fuck, just doing it for love of it, have mixed up a light, little, rib tickler. Besides who doesn't have a beef with the man? No really, fuck those soul suckers. 

7. Do Nevermen have any more good un's?

Why yes, indeed they do, my good man. Treat Em Right has it's tongue planted so far in it's cheek that if the wind changed they would be stuck with cock sucking face. Musically it comes with a bit more bang than Mr Mistake but from the same place.

8. Is there any more vital information concerning Nevermen?

Mike Patton got called out for being a wanker on a Reddit question and answer about Nevermen. He has randomly abused a woman in the front row of a FNM show. He apologised but a kerfuffle was in the making. Apparently Mr Patton makes a bit of a habit of it. Mike Patton a dick. Who would have thought? 

Doseone says the band mantra is, “Don’t rush the fuckin’ music.”

“So make no mistake, Mr Take Take Take,
Your paperworks safe, for your fast pace, gas face”

Dessert is served by Regurgitator, an alternative hip-hop rock act from Brisbane, Australia. Bringing funky tunes that pop, since 1993 to the present day, Regurgitator have nine long players in their roll of glory. The first four albums were all top 10 albums in the Australian charts. ! (The Song Formerly Known As) was one of four singles that leaped off Regurgitator's third album Unit and is an example of satire being a sincere form of flattery. Imagine Prince got form.

“I don't go to concerts baby,
music's always up too loud,
cigarettes and alcohol get up my arse,
I always lose you in the crowd”

Shields - Alive

 

 

 

1. Who are these charismatic characters?

Shields come from the grim Geordie streets of Newcastle, England. Alive (Jan’16) comes springing off the indie pop band’s debut long player How Can We Fix This? (Feb’16).

2. What kind of tune is Alive?

A sprightly indie pop song with soaring vocals that fly above a lively drum track 90's indie style with modest input from the synths and able assistance from the guitars. Nice. It wouldn't offend the vicar if you had him over for tea and biscuits. It grows on you with repeated listens, to be fair, but the message is life affirming! If you need that.

3. Who do they Shields sound like?

Alive minds of a sugary I'm From Barcelona's Violins on account of the vocals and even The Rotaries Town Light, a New York band true, but that tune has a Northern English sound.

Shields have been mentioned as having similarities to the likes of The Futureheads, Maximo Park, Everything Everything, Zoot Woman and Friendly Fire by The Guardian.

4. What do the press have to say?

Louder Than War were enthusiastic calling Alive, “a real alt-pop gem,” with “an incredibly catchy guitar hook,” and gushed that the band are “on the cusp of something great.” Consequence of Sound were brief “a bouncy number.” Never Enough Notes highlighted the “bright alt-pop sound” and Killer Pony Tail were effusive big upping the tunes, “rhythmic acrobatics, interweaving guitar work and harmonies,” and taking note of “a pretty positive underlying message of the importance of striving for your goals in the face of adversity.” 

On the topic of the new album How Can We Fix This? the good word was provided by The Guardian who pronounced it,“Slick, soaring electropop with a candy coating designed to give you a sugar high,” and “casually adept, fast yet funkily sublime.” Not content they summarised that the debut long player as, “Full of murderously effective, polished pop.”

 

5. Who are Shields influenced by?

Bands that put the shine in their light are Everything Everything, Tune-Yards and The Dirty Projectors. They have admitted to listening to Field Music, Radiohead, Givers, Beach House, Battles, Elbow, Pink Floyd and Arcade Fire. Shields have confessed to having some love for Led Zeppelin, Yes, The Beach Boys and The Police.
 

6. Why should I listen to Alive?

A universal message of fighting the man resonants in the heart of every indie beast. I mean straining to attain your dreams. Sweet indie pop that wouldn't have sounded out of place in the 90's English indie pop catalogue but also bridges across from that to sunshine drenched optimism of west coast American synth pop.

7. Do Shields have any other good tunes?

Their big hit, and worthy of the status, is Mezzanine. Next best, and with a little ska-esque guitar, is All I Know. After that you have got the controls.

8. Anything else?

Indeed. How Do We Fix This? was produced by Adrian Bushby who has done grind for Muse, Foo Fighters, My Bloody Valentine and Everything Everything.

The bands videos for Mezzanine and Alive got a lot of press attention.
 

“It’s more than words alone convey,
It’s more to me than you can see,
It’s bigger than the world to me”

 

 

The dodgy double dip is courtesy of Shield’s musical influences today. This is Ice Cream (2011) by the experimental New York rock band Battles.

 

 

 

 

  

The Best Indie Songs of 2015 - Rabbit!

A hit tune isn’t easy but Rabbit A Year In The Life (Jan’15) not only have a fucking ripsnorter on their hands here, they are a band to fall deeply in love with. This tune is emblematic of how they do. It isn’t happy, it’s delirious and brimful of optimism.

Released on New Year’s Eve it’s a song with a head nodding piano intro and boppy verses that set up a Kinks-esque chorus made of unicorn dreams and my little pony wishes. All the while with a touchdown pass from the drums and a little 'I got your six' from the guitar.

A Year In The Life revives an innocence found in music made at the dawn of pop while making it essential to a modern audience and thats what makes it one of the best indie songs of 2015.

 

"With a little love, a little hope,

we’ll find a way to rewrite,

all our fractured fairy tales" 

 

 

Rabbit! are an indie pop rock band from Mount Dora, Florida. They burst into glorious fruition in 2007.

A Year In The Life is a free New Year download from the Rabbit! facebook page. Rabbit! have two absolute gems of albums to their undying credit, Go For It and Connect the Dots.

Shit you need to know:

Rabbit! are genuine good guys having toured in support of art and music programs in schools and other laudable causes.

People tend to love or hate this band, check out their YouTube comments for corroboration. I particularly like the one on “Sun and Moon” where some dude compared the dislike bar to Justin Bieber's penis. That person got told.

Rabbit! songs are popular for advertising having been used for Mott’s Juice, Telus and Zappos among others.

Rabbit! have been described as TweePop, simple, sweet, do-it-yourself, indie rock that has convoluted origins.

Rabbit! do a ‘fuck yeah, of course it’s better’ cover of Black Eyed Peas I Gotta Feeling.
 

Feeling Twee as fuck? More tunes fuck full of fantastic are  Great is Better, Magic, Together, Pea, Best Thing That I've Found and that’s just a taster bag.

 

 

So sloppy seconds today is reserved for these ska punk legends fighting out of Seoul, South Korea since 1996, the Korean mythical beasts that are No Brain.

This is their, pat your pockets down, adjust your love package in the crotch of your jeans and get ready for it, mosh pit favorite. It'a a fucking stormer, hold on tight for Party Like Crazy (2006).
 

 

Gaze on the majesty of these cunt punting rock gods.