Party Fears - Dog Star

Formed in Korea, based in Berlin, and with members from Northern Ireland & Australia (if you know a more continent-spanning band, then you've got more time on your hands than me), Party Fears are a group that I have known about for some time, even though it's only been recently that I've taken the time to listen to their music.

Their name has been etched into my psyche for the last year and a bit, largely because their stickers appear to have been strategically placed in Belfast city centre along the route that I take every Monday to Friday on my walk to that place that I go to every Monday to Friday. I also bumped into them earlier this year when they were at a Jealous of The Birds gig in the Oh Yeah Centre, where they spent quite a bit of time hiding behind a curtain in the venue.

But it is their music that they're most known for, and having released a warmly received album in 2017, they have just released a new single, "Dog Star", and if you're new to their music, it's a pretty great jumping-in point. It's an ace slice of disco-inspired art-pop which is quite infectious and poppy in spite of the sombre theme of the lyrics.

"Dog Star" is taken from their upcoming E.P "Just Friends", which is out on 12th November.

Balako - Hora De Balako

At the start of 2017, there was one thing in particular that The Metaphorical Boat was hoping to hear in the year ahead, and that was an honest to goodness, bona fide disco banger. We've always had a soft spot for the genre, but it has been a while since we've heard a modern one that's really excited.

In the 21st century, we've had the insatiably brilliant "Murder on The Dancefloor", and of course "Get Lucky" was, and continues to be, the feel-good song of the summer. But apart from those songs, and the occasion stroke of genius like "Blind" or "Beaches & Friends", there hasn't been many other disco songs that have moved us, which is why we were so keen on 2017 doing something to remedy that.

And it looks like 2017 may have just answered our call, in the form of Brazilian duo Balako. Their debut single, "Hora De Balako", has just about everything that we want in a total disco banger - funky basslines, swooping strings, and a feelgood chant you just cannot help shouting along to, even if you a) don't know what it means, and b) are walking around listening to the song on headphones, aware that people will give you funny looks for shouting such a phrase at occasional intervals.

"Hora De Balako" is out now.

Public Service Broadcasting - Gagarin

Public Service Broadcasting are back.

This is not a drill. I repeat, Public Service Broadcasting are back.

It is with great pleasure that we can say that J Willgoose Esq. and his esteemed colleague Wrigglesworth will be releasing their 2nd album early next year, and we at The Metaphorical Boat cannot be any more delighted. This blog have been keen supporters of the band since early 2012, and we were delighted when more and more people warmed to them, to the point that by the time they released "Inform-Educate-Entertain" last year, the album crashed into the chart at #21, with the band's selling out some large venues whilst promoting the album. And of course, they were not only responsible for this blog's top album of 2013, but also the top song of the year as well, with the wonderful "Signal 30".

So it goes without saying that we have been awaiting their follow-up album with much excitement, and it looks as if it's going to be a fantastic one indeed. "The Race For Space" will see the band looking to the stars as they give us a musical accompaniment to the Cold War space race between the USA and the Soviet Union between 1957 and 1972, using vocal samples taken from the time. As recent weeks have demonstrated, there is still an insatiable appetite from the public to learn more about the world beyond our atmosphere, so there couldn't be a better time for Public Service Broadcasting to, as their maxim states, teach the lessons of the past through the music of the future. Although I loved "Inform - Educate - Entertain", a few people felt that the album didn't have a real theme running through it, unlike their earlier "War Room" E.P, so hopefully theming a full-length record around a central concept will help to silence the doubters.

And finally, the band have just made available the first single to be taken from the album. "Gagarin" takes its name from Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, and is very atypical of what one might expect a song honouring a Soviet cosmonaut to sound like, given that it's a funky, brassy disco number that sounds more like a theme tune to an 80s cop show, and a ruddy brilliant one at that.

Unfortunately, if you watch the music video, the chances are you won't be able to hear any of that, as you'll be laughing so loudly that you won't be able to hear anything the first time. The music video sees Willgoose and Wrigglesworth don space suits for a sophisticated, hilarious choreographed dance routine that's as ridiculous as it is informative. If this goes viral, I will not be shocked. We may have just found the winner of the internet.

Welcome back, Public Service Broadcasting. I look forward to the launch of their new album, and given that they've already sold-out two nights at the National Space Centre in Leicester, they are undoubtedly going to be blasted off into the stratosphere.

"The Race For Space" will be released on the 23rd February 2015. "Gagarin" will be available to download from 1st December for people who pre-order the album from the band's website.

Waylayers - Take Hold

The last time we wrote about London band Waylayers last year, we said that the band sounded like Coldplay had gone all dance on us. Based on that, you might think that Chris Martin himself has been reading this blog, seeing as this his band went the way of four-to-the-floor with the release of "Sky Full Of Stars".

It perhaps in retaliation to that that Waylayers have distanced themselves from those comparisons on the release of their new single, "Take Hold". Gone are the heartfelt-techno vibes of  "S.O.S", instead to be replaced by something that could best be described as dark-disco. The song is filled with pulsating basslines and somewhat sinister backing vocals, whilst their vocals are much less Chris Martin-ish than they have been in the past.

We said last year that we wanted to hear something less indebted to other bands and more of the band's own sound, and it looks like with "Take Hold", Waylayers are on the right track.

"Take Hold" will be released on September 15th.

Bora York - Let Loose

Simple, funky, danceable. Those are the three words that best describe "Let Loose", the new single from the Minneapolis based, husband & wife fronted five-piece Bora York. Breaking away from the more dreamy sounds of their first album, "Let Loose" sees the band seeking to take control of the dance floor, with its funky basslines and dual vocal harmonies making this one pretty wonderful track. It's quite reminiscent of the sound of local band Go Wolf as well, which is most definitely not a bad thing. Bora York seem to be pitching their claim for song of the summer a little early, so we'll see if it's the case when August rolls into September.

"Let Loose" is available to download now from all good retailers.

The Wood Burning Savages - America

It's always nice when a band you know release a song that completely takes you by surprise. Up until now, Derry's The Wood Burning Savages have been known for their rollicking rock & roll sound, the occasional excursion into folk notwithstanding.

It makes the sound of their latest single, "America", sound almost alien at first - of all the directions you might have expected the group to slide into, disco-rock would have been somewhere near the bottom. They do a good job of it though - "America" is a sleekly produced track full of syncopated basslines, oscillating synths and a somewhat psychedelic guitar riff that come together to make something both satisfying and a little bit different.

It's nice to hear a band who don't try to confine themselves to just one rigid genre. Let's just hope this doesn't mean that their next single will be an excursion into death metal polka-rap.

"America" will be released on March 18th.

Years & Years - Traps

When the self-proclaimed fans of your group include Judi Dench, then you just know the band in question are a modern, trendy bunch of upstarts, especially if such upstarts have just signed to the trendiest of all trendy record labels, Kitsuné (that record label that always sells its wares on the 2nd floor of Urban Outfitters).

And so it's time to introduce Years & Years, a London based quintet fronted by Olly Alexander, whom I am informed appeared in yoof dramedy Skins at some point. "Traps" is their second single, and is very much a song of two halves. The first half is the 'artsy' section, with wonky synths, subtle percussion and an intimate atmosphere. The second half however throws this out the window and instead concentrates on making an enjoyable pop song, complete with disco beats and a stonking bass line.

"Traps" will be released on September 9th.