Keston Cobblers Club - Almost Home

1.    Who are Keston Cobblers Club?

Keston Cobblers Club are an indie folk-pop band from Bromley, England. They started playing together in 2009 and Almost Home (Feb’17) is from their third album of the same name, Almost Home (March’17). 

2. What's the vibe on Almost Home? 

Almost Home is a knee-slapping, singalong folk song chock full of chest-bursting joy and nostalgia. Whoops abound, drums pound, acoustic guitars are plucked and tambourines rattle rambunctiously. 

3. Who do Keyston Cobbler's Club sound like? 

Van Susans, The Strumbellas and The Lumineers. 

4. What have the rags said about Almost Home? 

“Intricate melody and a nostalgic sweetness that proves inescapable” – The AU Review.

“Catchy, folk-infused” – Graffiti Punctuated. 

“Poignant optimism” – Folking.       

5. Which bands influenced Keston Cobblers Club?

Some of the band’s influences are Mates Of State, The Shins, Beirut, Bon Iver and Paul Simon.

6. Why should I press play on Almost Home? 

Because you like indie-poptism. Because you like boozy, infectious, late night singalongs. 

7. What are Keston Cobblers Club's best songs? 

Almost Home, You Go and Won't Look Back.    

8. Any more words? 

Keston Cobblers Club are a band formed by brother, sister and best friend. They are festival favorites and big Fleetwood Mac fans. 

“And I’ve never tried to hide where I belong”

Beirut are from Santa Fe, New Mexico but fight out of Brooklyn, New York. They play world, electronic, indie folk/pop music. Grooving since 2006 they have four albums on their roll of honor. Beirut is similar to Neutral Milk Hotel, Fleet Foxes and Noah and The Whale. Their influences are The Beach Boys, music form the Balkans and Mexican music. Gibraltar was the second single from his fourth album No, No, No (2015). Gibraltar is an infectious indie pop tune with bongos, jaunty keys and whimsical vocals.

“Who laid a line?

Say you’re like my kind”

Andrew Bird - Puma

1.    Who is this lauded lord of tunes?

Andrew Bird is an indie folk rock musician from Lake Forest, Illinois. A multi-instrumentalist and prodigy he has been making music since 1996. Puma (Feb’16) is an album track off Andrew Bird’s tenth long player Are You Serious (April’16).

2. What’s he got?

Puma is a languid pop rock number with infectious melody in spades. It's got a bit of up the guts verve too.


3. Who does he sound like?

Puma sounds like a Belle and Sebastian tune. Comparisons to Paul Simon are out there.


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

“The most intricately composed thunder ever” – NPR.

“A sing-along sensiblity that is both georgeous and cathartic” – DIY.

“A bonafide rocker” – AV Club.

 

 

 

5. Who are Mr Birds influences?

 

Andrew Bird is influenced by classical music, jazz, British folk, bluegrass, swing and Calypso.

 

 

6. Why should I crank Puma up on the stereo?

 

Puma is a heartfelt song about Andrew Bird's wife's illness and that strength of feeling is conveyed on a tune that drifts away and bangs a bit in equal measure.

 

 

7. Does the venerable sir have any more good un's?

 

The first single from Are You Serious, Capsized, has a rocking groove.

 

 

8. Any more words?

 

Are You Serious has a track with a Fiona Apple collaboration, Left Handed Kisses.

 

 

“She was radioactive for seven days,

How I longed to be holding her anyways”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Low Cut High Tops is multi-instrumentalist, producer and indie grunge pop rocker David Burns. Hailing from Seattle he released his stonking debut album Eh, Whatever (Jan'16) with a bevy of top notch singles including Raise Hell. Indie Shuffle compared Raise Hell to The White Stripes, The Japandroids and Wavves and big upped it's “punk rock bravado and garage rock cool.” Low Cut High Tops is the best thing in music this year and Raise Hell has a killer riff to lift the roof off any barn.

 

 

“And I will raise hell, oh yeah!” 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



You Won't - Ya Ya Ya

 

 

 

1.    Who are these funny bastards?

You Won’t are a folk pop duo from Massachusetts. The duo have been making sweet music together for over 15 years and Ya Ya Ya (Feb’16) is the lead single from their second album Revolutionaries (April’16).


2. What kind of march are You Won’t drumming?

Ya Ya Ya is an instantly catchy low-key folk pop tune with a chorus as sticky as a rapist in church.


3. Who do You Won’t sound like?

Flood Magazine compared You Won’t to Neutral Milk Hotel.


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

“A sturdy heart-felt distorto folk song” – Flood Magazine.

“Redolent and sweet” – Consequence Of Sound.

“Packs a powerfully ear-pleasing punch” – KEXP.

5. Who puts the pop in You Won’t’s folk?

You Won’t have expressed love for Paul Simon and The Magnetic Fields.


6. Why shoud I give Ya Ya a swish past the brain holes?

Campfire sing-alongs. Ya Ya Ya is a lovely song you will sing-along with and has enough meat in the lyrics to satisfy the soul.


7. Do You Won’t have any more of these lovelies?

The second single No Divide (April'16) is piano led and more of the same happy brilliance.



8. Any more words?

You Won’t have been on fluffing duties for bands like The Lumineers and The Joy Formidable. They also once supported Danish electronic rock gods Alcoholic Faith Mission.

 

“You say your brain is like a lost land mine”

 

 

The double dip is courtesy of indie pop band Generationals. Started in 2008 and hailing from New Orleans the men have four long players to pin to their pole and I Never Know rocks off their third album Heza (2013). I Never Know is a hooky rocker with a glam vibe.

“I bet it don’t upset you to see me get busted”

Radical Face - The Ship In Port

 

 

 

1.    Who is this loose goose?

Radical Face is multi-intrumentalist, recorder and singer/songwriter Ben Cooper from Jacksonville, Florida. On the go sincethe year 2000 Mr Cooper has five long players to his roll of honor. The Ship In Port (March’16) pitches off the fifth album The Family Tree: The Leaves (March’16).
 

2. What kind of treasure has been unveiled in The Ship In Port?

The Ship In Port is an indie folk thigh slapper with acoustic, piano and strings. A slow burner in both senses of the term. The Ship In Port ironically builds up steam for an absolute blowout in the outro but it takes a few listens to love this beast in it's entirety. Then it's hard to hit sit still listening to this barnstormer.

3. Who do Radical Face sound like?

The Shins. Brooklyn Vegan compared The Ship In Port to Sufjan Stevens and the Garden State soundtrack.
 

4. What have the press had to say about The Ship In Port?

“Lushly orchestrated” – Nettwerk.

“Folky, heavily arranged indie pop” – Brooklyn Vegan.

“An unprecedented musical journey” – With Guitars.

 

5. Who puts the gruff in Radical Face’s beard?

Ben Cooper loves classical music and movie scores. The bands that he finds inspiration from include Neutral Milk Hotel, The Flaming Lips, The Halo Benders, Neil Young and My Bloody Valentine.

 

6. Why should I give The Ship In Port a fair crack of the whip?

The Ship In Port is a story-telling song at it’s best that winds up until you are dancing a jig.

 

7. Do Radical Face have any more of these crackers?

Try the big hit Welcome Home.

 

8. Any more words?

The Family Tree: The Leaves is the final installment of a trilogy of albums written about a fictional 19^th Century family.

 

“The ship in port is the safer one,

But it’s not the reason it was made”

 

 

 

The Joy Formidible are an alternative rock band from Wales who fight out of London, England. The band started in 2007 and have three long players in the vault. Whirring (2011) was the debut single on their debut album, acheived some chart success in the States and may be the best song they have ever done. Pitchfork calledWhirring, “an aerobic rush of a song that builds to the kind of explosive alt-rock chorus that would've blown the roof off.”

 

“You make me sleep so badly invisible friend”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Novah - Revolution

1.   Who are these young lads?

Novah are an atmospheric indie rock band from Stockholm, Sweden. Novah took flight in 2013 and their debut single Robot (Aug'15) had big play. Revolution comes crusading off their debut E.P. Alaska (2016).

 2.   What kind of tune are Novah pushing?

Revolution is aiming for epic and emotive. Bottom of the heart, gut-wrenched, vocals accompanied with acoustic guitar that kicks in to electric guitar to take flight in the chorus. Revolution is stadium filling, arms in the air, soft rock for the masses.

3. Who do Novah sound like?

Coldplay. The Planet Of Sound say Novah sound like Local Natives, The Verve and M83.

4. What do the Lords and Ladies of the press have to say about Revolution?

“A slowly driven indie track that explodes into an epic open arms experience with its soft vocals.” – Alternative Tracks.

“Sonically stunning and particularly crafted new single.” –The Four Oh Five.

“Blew me away with one listen.” – The Daily Listening.

5. Which bands have inspired these wunderkinds?

Coldplay maybe.

6. Why should I give Revolution a listen?

Because being a hater is wrong and deep down in your heart you remember a time of euphoric happiness when listening to a Coldplay song. 

7. Do Novah have any more good songs?

Revolution is far and away the band's best.

8. Are there any more interesting facts to share about Novah?

Novah went to an isolated Swedish island to record their E.P. instead of using an established studio in Copenhagen.

The Magic Numbers are an indie folk pop band who hail from Ealing, England. They have been making music together since 2002 and have four grand albums on display. Mornings Eleven (2005) was the first single off their self-titled album and one of the best tunes The Magic Numbers have ever made. Their concerts have been called “a quasi-religious affair” and “a fully fledged cult affair” by The Independent and Pitchfork calls Mornings Eleven a “banjo-like guitar romp.”  Here’s the real deal. The Magic Numbers.

“Baby if you telephone,

Maybe I can meet you in the morning,

Come on your own”

Luke Top - Lucky Penny

1. Who is this cruiser?

Luke Top is a solo artist and frontman for the Fool's Gold band. Lucky Penny (Jan'16) is the second single that sashays off his first solo long player Suspect High (March'16). Mr Top calls Los Angeles home.

2. What kind of tune is Luke Top peddling?

Lucky Penny is not quite white boy reggae but it is close. Organ to the fore in a quirky piece of nonsense. Rolls by like the breeze through your car window on a sunny day. 

3. Who does Luke Top sound like?

Foster The People's cover of Machu Picchu comes to mind. The Kooks, She Moves In Her Own Way.

Bootleg Theater nails it comparing Luke Top to Beirut, Al Bairre, Trails and Ways and Vampire Weekend. Austin Town Hall were feeling Albert Hammond Jr.

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

“Organ-drenched sway in a tropical breeze” - Buzzbands.

“A tropical pop, perky Afropop, and drafty bossa nova suffused chamber pop” - Bootleg Theater.

“Smoothing out vocal notes with pop doses; there’s a nice bounce coming in too from the organ” - Austin Town Hall.

5. Who are this champs influences?

Luke Top has expressed love for African music, Krautrock and 1980's dance pop.

6. Why should I give Lucky Penny a swish past the ears?

The organ chords supplying the ska feel. They just don't get old. A free floating, happy go lucky feeling.

7. Does  the good man have any other ripping tunes?

Yes.

8. Any more pearls of wisdom?

The lass who did the production on the new album Suspect High is Ariana Morgenstern and she has put nose to grind for Jimmy Cliff, Guster and Continental Drifters in recent years.

 

“You talk about it plenty,

But at the time there’s nothing to be known,

I’m sure you’re a lucky penny”

The double dip is from euphoric indie folk pop Eliza and The Bear. They sprung out of London town in 2011 and Lions Heart (July'15) is the first single from their debut self-titled album Eliza and The Bear (April'16). Lions Heart  is a tune Clash Music said has “a triumphant, euphoric air.”