The Belligerents - Before, I Am



1.    Who are these happy heroes?

The Belligerents are a psych rock band from Brisbane, Australia. The band kicked off in 2010 and have three short players to their name. Before, I Am (March’16) is the lead single from their as yet unnamed debut long player.


2. What kind of tune are they rocking?

Ethereal vocals, minding of Manchester magic, float above nippy guitar jangle. Repeat listenings of Before, I Am are in order to get the best out of this one.


3. Who do The Belligerents sound like?

I Oh You compared Before, I Am to early Battles music.


4. Whats the word from the wannabes?

“Who-like vocal voyages and a swirl of riff roaring guitars” – Rolling Stone Australia.

“Unique experiemental psych-rock” – H H H Happy.

“A blistering rocker that is also dreamy and breathtaking” – The Revue.

5.  Which bands are the sunshine of The Belligerent’s life?

The Belligerents main influences are Talking Heads, Joy Division, Foals, Franz Ferdinand and Metronomy.

6. Why should I give Before, I Am a whip past the brain holes?

Before, I Am has hints of melancholy that grow on you.

7. Do The Belligerent’s have any more bolters?

Check out their cover of Fatboy Slim's Praise You for shits and giggles. It's money.

8. Any more words peasant?

Before, I Am was featured in Jonathan Hunt's Indie Rock Playlist (March'16).

The men have good taste in footwear.

“Before I am a man, I am a ghost”

Wild Child are an indie pop band from Austin, Texas. Whipping the crowd into a frenzy since 2010 they have three long players in the bank. Crazy Bird bubbles off Wild Child's second album The Runaround (2013) and has horns, banjo, whistles and 'heys'. Crazy Bird is upbeat fun.

“Whisper the things we’d scream”

Silversun Pickups - Circadian Rhythm (Last Dance)

 

 

 

 

 

1.    Who are these charmers?

Silversun Pickups are an indie rock band from Los Angeles, California. Circadian Rhythm (Last Dance) (Sept’15) is the second single to bubble off their fourth album Better Nature (2015). Playing since 2002 the band have four long players on their roll of honor.


2. What kind of tune are Silversun Pickups peddling?

Circadian Rhythm(Last Dance) is a radio friendly, moody, pop rocker. A quiet, atomospheric and contagious tune that grows on you slowly. Very slowly.


3. Who do Silversun Pickups sound like?

Metric. The Silversun Pickups have been compared to Autolux, My Bloody Valentine and The Smashing Pumpkins.


4. What have the goon squad got to say about Circadian Rhythm (Last Dance)?

“A warm, enveloping rocker” – Stereogum.

“Ethereal rock” – The Daily Beast.

“A modern pop gem” – Consequnece Of Sound.

5. Who put the rock in the Silversun Pickups roll?

Joy Division are a big influence and the band have big love for Radiohead.


6. Why should I give Circadian Rhythm (Last Dance) a whip past the ears?

Circadian Rhythms (Last Dance) sinks it's hooks in slowly but deep. Circadian Rhythms (Last Dance) is the best track off the new album from an iconic indie rock band.

 
7. Do Silversun Pickups have any more monsters?

Affirmative. Cannibal is a monster but Panic Switch is King Kong.


8. Any more words?

Circadian Rhythm (Last Dance) was written by bass player Nikki Monniger in homage to a lost friend.

Better Nature was produced by Jacknife Lee who has put the shine on long players by U2 , R.E.M., Two Door Cinema, Bloc Party and Weezer just to name a few.

Silversun Pickups have opened for The Foo Fighters, Kaiser Chiefs and toured with Against Me! and Wolfmother.

“There’s no where left to go, so stay with me”

Dessert is served by punk legends Against Me! who came firing into life in 1997 from Gainesville, Florida. The band have six long players in the vault and are still going strong. The punk anthem Sink, Florida, Sink (2006) was the second single from the second album Against Me! As The Eternal Cowboy (2003) and the definitive version is this one from Against Me!’s first live album Americans Abroad!!!Against Me!!! Live In London!!! (2006). Pure fucking genius.

“They make all the right reasons to fuck it up,

You’re gonna fuck it up!”

The Best Indie Songs of 2015 - Hayden

Hayden’s Nowhere We Cannot Go (Jan’15) is sweaty with a universal disappointment in human nature. The voice is weather beaten and cracking under the weight of life’s setbacks as it tells it’s tale of a man struggling to do better. The plaintive vocals are brilliantly assisted by lavish piano.

But by the three and half minute mark the tune rallies around the flag of hope to end with an emotional message of endless optimism, endurance and beauty. It’s a cracking fucking juxtaposition and makes this, hands down, one of the best indie songs of 2015.

“I ...I do it all the time
forget the man I’m tryin’to be

because I’m climbin”

  

Hayden is Paul Hayden Desser an indie folk singer slash song writer hailing from Toronto, Canada. Nowhere We Cannot Go is the lead single from his eighth long player Hey Love (March’15).

Shit you need to know:

Nowhere We Cannot Go has been described as having “invincible piano” and a voice laden with “intimacy and passion”.

About the new album Hey Love this guy said it had, “heartfelt, introspective and plaintive songs about love and life.”

It has been suggested Bob Dylan might be an influence.

Hayden gets his groove on to The National.
 

Hayden signed a big money U.S. label deal early doors then all but quit music six years later because he wanted to avoid the limelight. He's a 'I did it my way' guy.

Hayden is known for recording eclectic music, releasing it on his own label , avoiding the media and being reclusive.

Hayden is friends with Steve Buscemi who is a big fan and they’ve made tunes together.

In 2015 Hayden toured with Bahamas.

If you wanna hear more beautiful tunes check out Bad As They Seem or Dynamite Walls.

 

There is nothing to stir the porridge with so here’s a random. The L.A. alternative rock band Magnolia Memoir and their best swinger Odds and Ends (2014).