STRFKR - Never Ever

1.    Who are these grips? 

STRFKR or Starfucker are an indie synth/pop/rock band from Portland, Oregon. Formed in 2007 they have recorded five albums. Never Ever (Feb'16) is the first single to slide off their fifth album Being None, Going Nowhere (Nov'16).  

2. What kind of tune have they rustled up? 

Never Ever is a smooth slip of toe-tapping synth-pop that slinks along without piercing your consciousness. Head-nodding, bum-bouncing, bubblegum.

3. Who do STRFKR sound like?

MGMT. Indie Shuffle  compared Never Ever to Of Montreal, Discovery and Van She.

4. What is the good word from the press? 

“An infectious sing-along melody” – Hypetrak. 

“Bursting with their signature danceablity” – Transversomedia.

“Warm, gooey, synth-heavy indie-pop” – W Week.

5. Who put the bounce into STRFKR? 

Some of the band's influences are hip-hop (Gucci Mane, BigBoi), punk (Fugazi, Nirvana) and pop (Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper) and synth-pop (Giorgio Moroder and New Order).

6. Why should I give Never Ever a spin on the jukebox?

Never Ever has a cerebral, body-moving, groove.

7. Do STRFKR have any more good songs?

Boy Toy is the one you want. Chaotic, spacey and concise synth-pop.

8. Anything else muppet?

No sir.

“Soft velvet and candle light,

Little fears that you keep inside”

Vance Joy is Australian indie folk pop musician James Keogh. His debut album Dream Your Life Away (2014) was an immediate success topping the charts in Australian and making it into the top ten in many other countries. Vance Joy sounds like Mumford & Sons, Ed Sheeran and Boy & Bear. Some of his influences are Paul Kelly, The Pogues and The Whitlams. The second single off Dream Your Life Away was the hugely successful single Riptide (2013). The tune made it to number one on the U.S alternative charts, top 10 in the U.K and became the longest charting single in Australian history. Riptide has sold a million copies worldwide and has 140 million YouTube plays. It's an intimate, acoustic song and catchy as chlamydia. 

“I was scared of dentists and the dark,

 I was scared of pretty girls and starting conversations”

The Best Indie Songs of 2014 - Imagine Dragons

 

 

I Bet My Life (Oct’14) by Imagine Dragons has gospel singers in the quiet verses, big indie drums and the god’s honest definition of a monster chorus. It’s the definitive indie song of the teens. Raucous, folkish, uplifting and vacuous  but easily Imagine Dragon’s best song. I Bet My Life even sneaks in under the magic three minute bar too. I Bet My Life you’ll like this song.
 







 

Imagine Dragons have been plying their trade since 2008 and roll out of Las Vegas.

Imagine Dragons favourite numbers come from Muse, Nirvana and Arcade Fire. They don't mind an either way on Hip-hop too, for example Kendrick, Tupac or Biggie.

I Bet My Life is the first single off the bands second throw of the dice due in February 2015. Wanna try your luck? Top Of The World, Radioactive and It’s Time will give you the best odds.

 

 

 

Whose bigger in indie than these Imagine Dragons? Kings of Leon that's fucking who. And when the indie rock legends, the bassist of Kings of Leon and the singer from Mona got together to form Smoke & Jackal magic ensued. Smoke & Jackal only recorded one E.P imaginatively titled E.P. 1 (although their is talk they recorded a second unreleased E.P.). I suspect a lack of critical and commercial acclaim stopped any further releases.

 No Tell (2012) was the lead single from E.P. 1. It is a sexy crooner and a song Surviving The Golden Age compared to U2 although Kings of Leon is the easiest comparison. Consequence of Sound described the song as "delicate" and "uplifiting" although it is a song about getting a blow job so there is that. No Tell is a standout song so I go on, get down on your knees...

"We're going down now motel no tell"