lovelikefire.

just before i nick off for the weekend to ATP, i want to leave you with the video for the really bloody good debut single from LoveLikeFire. in a similar vein to bands like Sky Larkin and The Duke Spirit, LLL deliver a delectable brand of female led, shoegaze-indie with a punch. it's raw sounding and intense but still manages to maintain a pop-vibe. plus they're on the ace Heist Or Hit Records, and managed by Dany from Exitfare. wrap your eyes and ears around this:




and if i am relatively sober at any point during the next three days, i might be tweeting/twitting/whatever live from ATP. follow me on Twitter to check it out. or if you're heading the same way, make sure you say hello if you see me!

kitsuné 7.

and so comes the arrival of the seventh Kitsuné Maison compilation, "the lucky one". it's jam packed with brilliant tracks from some of the freshest sounding bands around like MEN, We Have Band and Chew Lips. guaranteed to make you dance your socks off. just have a look at the tracklisting and you'll see why:

1. Two Door Cinema Club - Something Good Can Work
2. We Have Band - Time After Time
3. Phoenix - Lisztomania (CLASSIXX Version)
4. Crystal Fighters - Xtatic Truth
5. The Golden Filter - Favourite Things
6. La Roux - In For The Kill (LIFELIKE Remix)
7. Beni - Fringe Element (Short Like Me Edit)
8. autoKratz - Always More (Yuksek Remix)
9. 80 KIDZ - Miss Mars
10. James Yuill - This Sweet Love (Prins Thomas Sneaky Edit)
11. MEN - Make It Reverse
12. Chew Lips - Solo
13. Chateau Marmont - Beagle
14. Heartsrevolution - 薔薇と彼女の王子
15. Delphic - Counterpoint (Delphic's En Route Mix)
16. Encore
17. Maybb - Touring In NY (Short Tour Edit)
18. Renaissance Man - Rythym
19. Tanlines - Bejan

here's a sneak preview before it is released on June 9th.

The Lucky Mini Mix - .zip
autoKratz - Always More (Yuksek Remix) - .mp3

enjoy.

i am losing you again.

here's the video for Plugs' forthcoming debut single.

Plugs - All Them Witches from Seb Lloyd on Vimeo.

it is fabbity fab fab and i can't wait to hear moaaaar.

Plugs - Imaginary Friend

get along to the single launch on May 22nd if you're in London @ Queen Of Hoxton. and order the EP from iTunes here.

weekend.

saying this band is a side-project of a former member of The Blood Brothers and a member of Schoolyard Heroes is pretty misleading. whilst completely true, Weekend sound nothing at all like either.

consisting of Ryann Donnelly and Mark Gajadhar, this two-piece from Washington make seductive sounding electro that is beyond perfect for dancing to. i'm particularly fond of Ryann's sweet vocals on the track i've posted! have a listen.

Weekend - Laser Eyes (Demo)

heavy cross.

probably all of a few hours late with this one but check out the fantastic new single from The Gossip.

The Gossip - Heavy Cross

the forthcoming album, 'Music For Men', is out June 15th!

youuuuuuves

i really thought i'd posted about Youves before but apparently not! my first encounter with the band was when i saw them back when they were still called Mirror!Mirror!, playing in the dingy Saki Bar in Manchester on an insanely freezing cold night. the PA was shit, the lighting was shit, the drinks prices were shit, the headline band were shockingly bad but Youves brought the party (to all eleven people in attendance).

then yesterday their mini album arrived in the post from Holy Roar Records. at seven tracks and 23.4 minutes long, 'Cardio Vascular' is a short but sweet introduction to the dance-punk world of Youves.

screaming at you from the get-go with screeching guitars and a thundering drum beat, this five piece from Nuneaton really mean business. not only do they smack you in the face with cowbells and plenty of hi-hat action, but they tease you with their riddles and clever lyrics.

the press release says "like Black Flag being produced by James Murphy, but without the steroids and militant dogma", so if that doesn't convince you they are well worth checking out, i don't know what will.

Youves - Bigorexic

the mini album is out on May 4th. click here to pre-order it. the artwork is beyond brilliant [click for a look], and well worth the money.

fake babies.

currently giving me an auralgasm is Connecticut based two-piece, Fake Babies. they make brooding, futuristic sounding, synth lead pop songs packed full of distorted vocals and a whole host of experimental bleeps and bloops and squeals. Fake Babies are Robert & Justin and they have been "making diapers dirty and encouraging the confused to dance" for almost 4 years, though sometimes musical progress was hindered by "instruments, drugs, and outside musical endeavours". they are now currently located with their feet firmly in the sand, making music that sounds like nothing you have ever heard before.

it's almost like Atlas Sound met Death From Above and decided to have an (awesomely named) party.

Fake Babies - Livin' Without You

ju-ju-juggling.

it has been sooooooooooo long since everybody went "what the fuck??" at the video for 'Oh My Gosh' by Man Like Me. was it a joke? was it 'ironic'? was it serious? from the shoddy PaintShop job to the slightly ridiculous "lyrics", it had me baffled. but as well as having me baffled, it also had me absolutely captivated.

since then it seemed like there were only brief stirrings of activity in the MLM camp, but now they are back with an album and it is pretty darn good. jam packed full of upbeat tracks like my favourite '9 Lives' and 'Single Dad', which provides a carnival-esque backing (complete with saxophones, steel pans and maraccas), lyrics packed full of optimism about rather gloomy situations and having toned down the 8-bit just a little bit, there is definitely less LOLfactor and more dancefactor about MLM. forthcoming single 'London Town' is also noteably fantastic; it's like a giant blob of 90s UK garage has managed to explode all over 2009. definitely my pick for summer!

whilst not quite serious enough to compete with more stern and solid albums we've already seen this year, this self titled album from Man Like Me is highly worth a good few listens.

Man Like Me - 9 Lives

keep your eyes peeled for a pre-order here. watch the video for 'London Town' here.

freshhhhhhhh.

what are you doing when you're 14 years old? are you hanging around street corners decked out in Rockports and Ben Sherman terrorising the neighbours? are you inside playing World Of Warcraft until your eyeballs fall out of your face? or are you busy in your bedroom morphing into 'the next big thing'?

i was weird combination of the first two - don't ask, but the artist this post is about is one hundred and ten percent the latter.

he's already grabbed the attention of "the industry" (yawn), as well as the 1Xtra Show, so there are definitely major things coming up in his future. the name is Mnek and he makes pretty perfect pop music. think 'if only Kanye West could sing and bummed Prince a bit more'. an eloquent description if ever there was one. not only does he write everything himself, he produces it too, and when he isn't making shit hot tracks he is busy writing a shit hot blog.

check out the talent.

Mnek - Devil In Pumps (She Dips)

grab more tracks from the myspace and Illegal Tender.

(sick) diamond in the rough.

all hail the return of Track Of The Week, which i have ressurected because the following track has me up and dancing at 90mph within about two seconds.

Fillmore Bass - Sick Diamonds

an utterly banging mish mash of thudding basslines manages to create a blinder of a hip hop/grime influenced dark dance track.

Fillmore Bass myspace page.