Discoverer 62: new indie findings

More new band proposals for you, with a rockier vibe and an eye (or two) at Primavera Sound Festival!

Beaches. First stop in Melbourne, Australia, to meet this female quintet formed in 2007. Their debut album, "Beaches", came a year later, obtaining critical acclaim and allowing them to tour Australia, the States and had slots in Festivals like All Tomorrow's Parties or SXSW. An Ep, "Eternal Sphere", appeared on Mexican Summer label on late 2010, with extensive touring afterwards. Finally the time arrived for a second album, "She Beats" out since May 3 on Chapter Music. A blend of psych-rock, shoegaze and krautrock with a stunning knack for pop melodies. Think on my beloved Electrelane with a retro, sixties vibe. Rich, kaleidoscopic and utterly absorbing music.

Cheatahs. One of today's proposals playing at Primavera Sound comes from London, in the form of a quartet leaded & founded in 2009 by frontman Nathan Hewitt. After a few tapes and 7" on various labels, in June 2012 they released their first EP, "Coared", on Marshall Teller Records. After a gig supporting Milk Music, Wichita Recordings signed them, putting out a second EP "Sans", in October, and combining both references on "Extended Plays", out since February. Shoegaze meeting raw 90's indie-rock without missing melodies, there's something genuine, powerfully vital in Cheatahs that put them ahead most upcoming bands.

Peace. Not a hypes' follower, even less when its NME who creates it, but after checking them as part of the Primavera Sound line-up's I admit it; here's a hype with a reason. Coming from Worcester, UK, the quartet formed in 2009 and were originally named November And The Criminal. After releasing a self-titled debut EP in March 2010 they changed it to Peace that October. The buzz began thanks to their shows, heavily amplified after signing to Columbia Records and releasing their debut EP "Delicious", on September 2012, with first album, "In Love", out past March. Playful, fun indie-rock that doesn't reinvent the wheel, but is catchy as hell.

Discoverer 51: new indie findings

Sunday again, time for new music discoveries, enjoy!

Savages. Checking the Primavera Sound 2013 line-up I discovered this all-female band from London. Despite formed in October 2011 and just active live since January 2012 they are already quite a hype, with NME saluting them as the "next big thing", so question marks quickly raised. But after checking their June 2012 first release, the double A-side "Flying To Berlin" and "Husbands", doubts vanished. Post-punk that breathes and beats, menacing, angular, challenging, anthemic, fire powered by singer Jehnny Beth (Ian Curtis meeting Siouxsie Sioux). A live EP, "I Am Here", followed past autumn, adding more munition for a band that sounds fated for very big things. What a wild ride is expecting us!  

The Rosie Taylor Project. Change of style, on a discovery made after checking the line-up of the Madrid PopFest.  Coming from Leeds but now based in London, the sextet origins' date back from 2007, when, after signing with Bad Sneakers Records (label now defuncted) they released a first single, followed by their debut min-album, "This City Draws Maps" a year later. Many shows followed until their sophomore release "Twin Beds" on Oddbox Recordings appeared in February 2012. Sophisticated and mature chamber pop with different sides and high caliber gems, a band not to miss.

Weird. And with our third proposal we return to more obscure sounds. A trio born in Rome in the second half of 2011, they spent 2012 in the studio, which resulted in the band’s first album “Desert Love For Lonely Graves” out since January 15 (that you can download for free here). Seven gloomy tracks, between dreampop and experimental rock, singular, moody and strangely fascinating. Music with a cinematic quality, that evokes impossible landscapes and unravels buried emotions on each song. Slow-burning tunes that sounds ridiculously cohesive for such a young band. Hear & have on eye on them.

Best Three Song Streak on an Album

A very curious list was proposed yesterday by NME: to name the best three song streak on an album. Needless to say I was in. After all, to find "triplets" of songs is a funny way and a nice excuse to listen some favourite records, so here it is!

20. Camera Obscura- Biggest Blue Hi-Fi
Happy New Year/ Eighties Fan/ Houseboat
19. The National- Cherry Tree EP
All Dolled-Up In Straps/ Cherry Tree/ About Today
18. Fanfarlo- Reservoir
Comets/ Fire Escape/ The Walls Are Coming Down
17. Monkey Swallows the Universe- The Bright Carvings
Sheffield Shanty/ Martin/ Jimmy Down the Well
16. Interpol- Antics
Next Exit/ Evil/ Narc
15. Saint Jude's Infirmary- Happy Healthy Lucky Month
The Church of John Coltrane/ Remember Dresden/ Saint Jean (it could continue with Good-bye Jack Vettriano and Saint Jude's Infirmary, this record is so great)  
14. The National- Boxer
Slow Show/ Apartment Story/ Start A War
13. Teenage Fanclub- Grand Prix
About You/ Sparky’s Dream/ Mellow Doubt
12. Belle and Sebastian- If You're Feeling Sinister
Seeing Other People/ Me And the Major/ Like Dylan in the Movies
11. Doves- The Last Broadcast
Pounding/ Last Broadcast/ The Sulphur Man/ Caught By the River (couldn't decide the triplet, so here's a great quartet)
10. R.E.M.- Life's Reach Pageant
Begin the Begin/ These Days/ Fall On Me
9. PJ Harvey- Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
Big Exit/ Good Fortune/ A Place Called Home
8. The National- Alligator
The Geese of Beverly Road/ City Middle/ Mr. November
7. U2- Achtung Baby
Ultraviolet/ Acrobat/ Love is Blindness
6. Beth Orton- Central Reservation
Stolen Car/ Sweetest Decline/ Couldn’t Cause Me Harm
5. Belle and Sebastian- Tigermilk
The State I Am In/ Expectations/ She’s Losing It
4. Bob Dylan- Blood On the Tracks
Tangled Up In Blue/ Simple Twist of Fate/ You’re A Big Girl Now/ Idiot Wind (I know that makes four again, so go think how amazing the record is)
3. The National- High Violet
Conversation 16/ England/ Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks
2. U2- The Joshua Tree
Where the Streets Have No Name/ I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For/ With or Without You
1. R.E.M.- Automatic for the People
Man On the Moon/ Nightswimming/ Find the River (which could easily be the most beautiful music ever made, if you ask me)

Arctic Monkeys Top Ten songs (and a best-of playlist)

A quick one today. NME gave its latest magazine cover to Arctic Monkeys, so they decided to rank up their top ten songs. As I don't agree with many of their choices, and to celebrate we've recently got the tickets for their forthcoming gig in Barcelona, here's mine. Plus a more elaborated personal best-of playlist with 21 tunes (expect a lot of "Suck It and See", of course), more or less what I would love to hear at Palau Sant Jordi this January. Enjoy!



My top ten
10. Do Me a Favour
9. That's Where You're Wrong
8. From the Ritz to the Rubble
7. Crying Lightning
6. Mardy Bum
5. Fluorescent Adolescent
4. When the Sun Goes Down
3. Suck it and See
2. Reckless Serenade
1. A Certain Romance

"Helplessness Blues", Fleet Foxes, 21st century folk

Helplessness Blues- Fleet Foxes
With few exceptions (including the pretty brutal review from Gavin Haines on NME, which should start a serious debate about what do we call music journalism) the second album of the Seattle indie folk band is receiving the universal acclaim from critics around the globe, certifying the privileged status the band has achieved.

In my opinion, after having the album on repeat for a long time (my enthusiasm for them has grown a lot since I saw them at Primavera Sound Festival), "Helplessness Blues", is a fair follow-up of their beloved predecessor. That's a reason to be happy, but also to raise a question mark. Let's go step by step.

On one hand, half of the album is simply gorgeous. Their craftsmanship talent cannot be more than overtly acclaimed in front of songs like opener "Montezuma", the humming  "Battery Kinzie", the Arabic vibe of "Bedouin Dress", the medieval "Sim Sala Bim", the homonym epic of "Helplessness Blues" or the sublime waltsy, fingerpicking style of "Lorelai". Robin Pecknold's voice shimmers, the arrangements and melodies soar, and one has to wonder if critics like Haines are just haters (maybe he hates folk) or people with a serious problem on the ears.

But compared to their debut something is missing. Some tunes, like "Blue Spotted Tail", "Someone You'd Admire" or "Grown Ocean" pass unnoticed. And then we have the two "slashed" songs, "The Plains/Bitter Dancer" and "The Shrine/An Argument", which could be qualified as interesting folk experiments, but where the sections doesn't really fit together.

And having in mind these disparities on the interest/entity of the songs (just my opinion of course), some needed diversity is also lacking on the album to avoid that feeling of getting tiring towards the end of it. Their first album had a slightly different approach to Americana in each song, from the rootsiness of Crosby, Still, Nash and Young, to the pop vocal harmonies and cheerfulness of The Beach Boys. Instead, "Heplessness Blues" is dominated by a publicly recognized embrace of the sixties folk boom. And more importantly, is dominated entirely by Pecknold (we could say the same about the lyrics), who sometimes seems to be almost alone in the task. Yes, intimacy and self-restraint could be excellent choices, but I have the feeling the record misses some foot-stomping or more electric guitars (almost absent except on the experimental/instrumental sections of the aforementioned "slashed" songs), particularly in its final part.

Maybe my opinion of the album has to do more with the terrific impression they gave after seeing them live. On stage, their music was not only beautiful, it was genuinely alive. During half of "Helpnessness Blues" I had that mesmerizing, contagious sensation again. But it didn't last the whole album.

SCORE: 6,5/10