Mixtape

Forward Russia got asked to put some ideas together for a themed mixtape this week, and Katie suggested "bands with punctuation" 

3 songs jumped out at me, and I thought I'd post them here for fun

OH NO! OH MY! - Walk In The Park

I love this song, because a) it makes want to take a walk in a park, and b) when I walk through lush green lands ala parks, I think of it. It's the perfect song to walk through a park to

Oh No! Oh My! – Walk in the Park

GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR - Moya

I like this a lot, to me it's the greatest crescendo, build up and release of tension I've ever heard on record. Not as 'beautiful' as other GYBE / Mt Zion compositions, but breathtaking like an insecent hammer through the heart

Last. FM Clip

THUNDERBIRDS ARE NOW! - (The Making Of...) Make History

To me, nothing says a puntuated band like handclaps, and nothing says punctuated band doing handclaps like this song. Lots of fun, perfect indie disco song

Last.FM Stream

Soundtrack to this post: Faraquet / Botch

Fine Wines

Just a post about 3 bands I hadn't heard 4 days ago, that I really really like...

OUR BROTHER THE NATIVE

MYSPACE / LAST.FM

Possibly quite late on this... apparently they released a debut album on FatCat in 2006, but the tunes are just captivating. It's actually too ambient to be postrock, too much subdued electronica. A fantastic mix

LINK TO MP3 - Our Brother The Native - As They Fell Beneath Us

SONGS: OHIA

MYSPACE / LAST.FM

I don't really know anything about this, other than it's Jason Molina and he's collaborated with everyone (read: Billy 'Prince' Billy, Magnolia Electric Co. and more). Lots of streamable tracks at Last.FM

HAMMER NO MORE THE FINGERS

MYSPACE / LAST.FM

North Carolina residents make good time, playful indie, with a sort of cross between Wilco / Sunny Day thing to my eyes. You know it's the kind of thing that fits in with a few things but is hard to place. And I'm still not sure where I heard them from! Listen on Last.FM

Soundtrack to this post: all the above

The Armada

I meant to put this before without being really self important and so on. My pop group has an album coming out in April - we recorded it in June / July / August last year in Seattle so it's been a bit of a wait. 

It's all go now at the minute. We're doing photo / video and more promo, and we also have new tracks on our our myspace and a free track to give away called 'Spanish Triangles' It's the album closer and it was a joy to layer guitar, rhodes and hammond all over the ending. I think I did it last and just let rip

LINK TO MP3---> ¡Forward, Russia! - Spanish Triangles

MYSPACE---> ¡Forward, Russia! - Breaking Standing / We Are Grey Matter

Soundtrack to this post: The National, helping me reminisce about Seattle (we saw them there)

The Barbarians Move In

I don't think there's a band I have as much admiration for as DUELS, and I'm proud that all of them are my 'buddies.' From putting their prior incarnation SammyUSA on at the tiny Packhorse years ago, to guitar teching a sold out tour with Kaiser Chiefs, to being let in completely to their process of making their 2nd album

Album 2 is called The Barbarians Move In, and was was written in the first half of last year, with a scary intent and focus. Last week they released the album via MP3 on their own website, and a full physical release will follow in April via This Is Fake DIY.

Anyway, this is the finest £4.99 ever spent as this is a proper classic album, with sounds and living drawn from everything. It is an inspiration. Enjoy some choice 'cuts' below:

Duels – The Furies

Duels – Sleeping Giants

Duels – Regeneration

Duels – The Healing

http://www.duelsmusic.com

Soundtrack to this post: Youthmovies

Fuck Buttons

Wow, this blog is keeping my busy just with the awesome bands I've got to see live. I didn't expect a lot from FUCK BUTTONS in the live set up, it's electro, so you're missing a whole element from the show

They set themselves up perfectly though, set up at The Faversham, in the middle of the dancefloor, one big table covered with leads, keyboards and strange devices

It's kind of brooding minimalist electronica with occasional heavy beats and dirty noises - hypnotising is probably the best way to describe them. I have the Bright Tomorrow single, and will be getting the album on it's release. Here are some tracks courtesy of Last FM

Fuck Buttons – Sweet Love for Planet Earth

Fuck Buttons – Colours move

Soundtrack to this post: Fuck Buttons / Spurs v Slavia Prague

Black Kids

BLACK KIDS are one of the most hyped bands of recent times, if not ever. The Jacksonville quintet released a free download EP - Wizards Of Ahhs - at the back end of last year, and have all kind of plaudits ever since.

On Friday night they supported Sons & Daughters at The Cockpit. I like the EP and figured once the hype kicked in, I would never get round to seeing them, and this opportunity would be probably my best ever

And they were great!! One of the most enjoyable gigs I've been to for a long time, giving me all kind of The Cure meets Motown feelings, and generally making me feel this was all a bit like The Strokes 5/6 years ago (I railed against The Strokes at first, but now hold them in massive regard). Onstage brother / sister duo Ali & Reggie Youngblood banter charismatically, and the whole thing was all kinds of fun

The EP is still there to download, via their website, so get it while you can. A single proper is expected in April

LINK TO MP3s---> Black Kids - Wizards Of Ahhs EP

Soundtrack to this post: i concur / Burial

Skins

I've only watched Skins once and I find it crazy the influence it's had on the music scene in the last year. I don't know whether it's good or not, it didn't seem to be, but the success of THE GOSSIP and now FOALS seem to lie on their shoulder

Foals are so much more than "the band from Skins" (as are The Gossip, with two previous albums on Kill Rock Stars) - but I'm not sure that many people realise that. Their new album leaked this week, and I've snagged a few songs. I've also found some MP3's by Yannis & Jack's old band THE EDMUND FITZGERALD, who I knew pretty well

The new Foals stuff, sounds really good, actually like a down-tempo, ambient Ed Fitz. However, I'm really not sure how the NME / Skins masses will react to it, once they get past lead single Cassius, and the lack of the Skins song (Hummer). And that's what I worry about.

BLOG SEARCH---> Foals - Various

Anyway, Skins inspired me to write this post, because after The Gossip, Foals, and a brief flirtation with Radiohead - the new advert now features  an instrumental version of the very excellent '23' by BLONDE REDHEAD - which makes me look up every time it comes on

LINK TO MP3---> Blonde Redhead - Misery Is A Butterfly (from 'Misery Is A Butterfly' LP - 2004)

I changed the layout to the post below by the way. And I'm experimenting with small text on this post. Who knows what will happen next???

Soundtrack to this post: These New Puritans / Blonde Redhead

Busy Bees

I've had a busy week, hardly spent a minute in the house over the back end of last week. Most pronounced by a trip to Preston on Wednesday to do a Forward Russia photoshoot. 

Danny North - photographer extraordinaire, picked an abandoned asylum as our location. Very crazy

    

And so far this week, I've been working on some remixes, and re-discovering old ones. Last year, I did a remix for the new BLOC PARTY record, that I think got lost in a huge pile of Bloc Party remixes. 

I've put it on my 'remix' MySpace (Constructicons Form Devastator) and linked to it below, with my favourite remix from the new album - Where Is Home? by Burial. Which I bizarrely heard on Panaroma the other night

MYSPACE---> Bloc Party - Uniform (Constructicons Form Devastator Remix)

BLOG SEARCH---> Bloc Party - Where Is Home? (Burial Remix)

Other than that, I've been constantly enjoying listening to the new YOUTHMOVIES album 'Good Nature' and re-listening to THE WRENS, who my dad once said was like a cross between Forward Russia and Coldplay....

MP3---> Youthmovies - Archive It Everywhere (Live At ATP)

MP3--->Youthmovies - If You'd Seen A Battlefield (Live At ATP)

MP3---> Youthmovies - Last Night Of The Proms (Live At ATP)

MP3---> The Wrens - Everyone Chooses Sides (from The Meadowlands LP)

If you can't tell, I still haven't worked out the best way to link to the music on this blog, suggestions welcome. Myspace links, blog searches and links to available downloads seem like the future

In the meantime, here's a download I feel good about linking to, the first fruits of a new Leeds band PULLED APART BY HORSES, available to download from Myspace for a limited period of time

MYSPACE / MP3---> Pulled Apart By Horses - High Five, Swan Dive, Nose Dive

FINALLY, and most importantly, GRAND ARCHIVES have released a sneak preview of their upcoming album via Pitchfork - the opening track Torn Blue Foam Couch. Enjoy

MP3---> Grand Archives - Torn Blue Foam Couch

Soundtrack to this post: These New Puritans / Grand Archives / Die! Die! Die! / El Guincho