you'll be owning all the fines.

sooooo i'm like person number 923849380248203938 to jump on the Bon Iver bandwagon but here i go anyway!

i was given the album recommendation by Ste from TFH Fanzine and when further prompted by Emma from Mushaboom i finally got round to getting a copy.

i was definitely pleasantly surprised. 'For Emma, Forever Ago' is the most touching album i've heard this year. lyrics about lovers, heartbreak and beautiful vocals echo over delicate guitars to create possibly the 'prettiest' music around at the moment. not usually my bag but this album is just too good to let lie.
the pigeonholes of "alt.country" and "folk" had me worried at first but if this is what all "alt.country" sounds like can we please bring on some more? definitely check it out, even if you like your music at 23987438 bpm.

here's a video of Bon Iver in an incredible performance on Jools Holland earlier this year:



you can find downloadable .mp3s of the show recordings here at Deaf Indie Elephants.

Bon Iver - For Emma

aaaaand buy the album here!

there's a pain in my chest.

i, unlike almost every other music blogger ever (please note the slight exaggeration) have yet to write about Black Kids. i figure everyone knows the basics about the band soooo i'm going to be uber lazy and direct you towards a feature/interview i did on the band for High Voltage in March and give you a new (?) track of theirs. i'm not entirely sure where it's from (an album? b-side?) so if anyone wants to fill in the gaps that'd be great because it's a bloody brilliant song. much less immediate but in a good way. it's darker than previous singles which is refreshing after seeing people bouncing up and down to 'I'm Not Gonna Teach..' night after night after night in clubs.

read the feature @ High Voltage.

Black Kids - Designs On AKA You

frankmusik.

song of the mid-week! synth pop goodness.

Frankmusik - Done Done

it's the bloody fantastic b-side to Frankmusik's forthcoming single 'In Step' which is being released on limited edition 7". i suggest you nab yourself a copy from hereeee. and check out the hula-hoop video for the single below.

reflective/surface.

new Neils Children songs! i'm half surprised they're stillllllll going and half delighted. the band have moved away from the garage-rock sound and have seemingly channelled their influences (particularly Josef K and The Monochrome Set) into the two new tracks. have the band realised The Horrors phase has died a death and (pretty shamelessly) drifted towards a poppier sound or is this a logical step in a new direction?

personally, i really love the sound of 'Reflective/Surface'. 'Exposure' is a bit of a grower though!

Neils Children - Reflective/Surface

buy the single here!

rifle, i knew you when you were just a pistol

usually i'm pretty rubbish at doing much with the emails i get sent from PR peoples unless the subject title grabs me. anyway, i thought i'd try my hand at being slightly professional and sift through the numerous unread messages haunting me.

soooo. i stumble across this pretty wordy press release from a label in America that has a free EP attached to it. the last line reads "her influences are psychedelic rock, the sexual revolution and using drugs like cannabis and LSD to explore consciousness" so i decide to go ahead and listen to the EP, haha.

the band are a four piece from Ohio called Hot Cha Cha and their songs throw German, English and French lyrics around between Sonic Youth/MBV influenced guitars. it's grungey (.. give back Cobain's ashes!!), it's post-punky, it's The Duke Spirit-y, it's Metric-y and it's pretty bloody good. female fronted post-punk for 2008 comin' atcha!

Hot Cha Cha - It's Hard To Be A White Boy In 1992
Hot Cha Cha - J'accuse

you can order the ep hereeee.

take it or leave it.

here's the video for the forthcoming (and debut!) single from Lo-Fi Culture Scene. i've already mentioned the band on my blog (heeeere) so it's nice to see them getting their foot in the door, and with ace label DIY-sters KIDS they're stood at a pretty neat door!

it's out June 30th and you can pre-order the hand numbered limited edition single here.

starlings of the slipstream.

their myspace background is epileptic fit enducing but i reckon their songs more than make up for that. Darlings Of The Splitscreen are a three piece from Sheffield. they make bleepy bloopy music. like a darker, sexier, more sinister To My Boy. and it's fucking addictive. they've just re-recorded forthcoming single 'Hiroshima' and put that along with the b-side 'Turn Around' up for freeeeeeeee download on their myspace page and they're sounding bloody brilliant. it's like someone's left Blondie and Hot Chip in a blender then drank the contents. check them out while you can!

Darlings Of The Splitscreen - Turn Around
Darlings Of The Splitscreen - Touched By Telepathy (Modernaire Remix)

black truths.

i guess black is the new.. erm.. black.

aside from the slightly cringey matching outfits White Lies gave a pretty stellar performance on Jools Holland last week. there's been an insane amount of hype about the band over the past couple of months and i've never really understood why until now.. ish. i was pleasently surprised with how well they came across on TV (or rather, on BBC iPlayer) because i feel they sound a bit flat on record. i'm not totally convinced but it's a start.

White Lies - Unfinished Business (live on Jools Holland)
White Lies - Death (live on Jools Holland)

bonjour.

clearly should have won for the golf cart action alone!

does anyone ever think their country is seriously going to win? i'm surprised England even came last. we should have been relegated.

drowning.

band splittttt.

Help She Can't Swim have run out of energy waiting for a lifeboat to come and rescue them.

the Brighton four piece have said they're going to continue making music post-HSCS, just not together. read the myspace blog here.

i guess doggy paddling isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Help She Can't Swim - Are You Feeling Fashionable?