Here's something a bit upbeat to put a spring in your step, courtesy of Leeds based 4-piece Marsicans. The band have been building up a loyal live following in the past few months, including supporting fellow up-and-comers Catfish & The Bottlemen, so the release of their latest single "Chivalry" is an important milestone for the band.
The song is a highly infectious Afro-pop inflected indie-rock tune, with some lovely guitar riffs, off-kilter drum work and a memorable chorus. The obvious comparisons would be Vampire Weekend and Little Comets, with the band falling somewhere in between the two musically.
The "Chivalry" E.P will be released on September 5th.
"Be Water My Friend" is the new single from Leeds based live trip-hop group Fold, their first release since their E.P collaboration with Mr Gee, "Salvation", back in October. In some ways, the song sees the band returning to how they operated in the past - using speech samples as a springboard for musical expression. However, the way they have done this on "Be Water My Friend" is quite different to how they've done so before.
In the past, Fold have tended to sample speeches with a political perspective, like on "Mr President, We're In Trouble". However, "Be Water My Friend" is instead more philosophical in nature, as a result of sampling a speech from the kung-fu king himself, Bruce Lee. In terms of the sound, the band have added a 3-piece brass section as well as vibraphone to their downtempo sound, and as a result, the instrumental sounds like it would not sound out of place on a 60s American spy TV show.
"Be Water My Friend" is an interesting new song from Fold - at once instantly recognisable as one of their songs, whilst still adding new ideas to the mix.
"Be Water My Friend" will be released at a 7" single on June 23rd.
The last time this blog covered live trip-hop group Fold, we commented that the band had taken a similar approach to the sound that brought Public Service Broadcasting so many admirers, by taking vocal samples from old recordings and using them as a springboard for their own compositions. Over a year on, it seems as if that comparison was well founded, as since then the group have recorded a well-regarded remix of "Theme From PSB", as well as supporting them in their hometown of Leeds.
For their latest release, the "Salvation" E.P, Fold have eschewed the use of vocals samples in their music, instead relying on a collaborator to add a common voice to the proceedings, performance poet Mr Gee. Across the E.Ps four tracks, meaty topics such as the behavior of politicians and the treatment of immigrants are covered, backed exquisitely by the group's wonderfully constructed tunes. The highlights of the E.P are the title track, which has echoes of the harsher sounds of Lemon Jelly, and closing track "Passing Strangers", which would not sound out of place on DJ Shadow's "Endtroducing" album.
The problem that can arise with releases with a distinctive political message is that it can detract from the universal appeal that music can, and should have. It is a credit to both Fold and Mr Gee that they have managed to create an E.P that sticks firmly to their principles, yet still should appeal to a wide audience, all while sounding incredibly brilliant.
Leeds group China Rats have been building their profile rather nicely since the last time we heard from them. As well as coming into their own as a live band, complete with sets at the Reading/Leeds Festival, they've also had a song featured in popular Channel 4 TV show The Returned. With a new E.P forthcoming next month, they've released the lead track to be taken from it. "Deadbeat" is a decent slice of Vaccines/Oasis-ish indie-rock, a song which should placate their current fanbase, and hopefully win them a few new fans as well.
"Deadbeat" is taken from the E.P "Don't Play With Fire", which will be released on September 30th.
If there's one group you can rely on for tuba powered pop with completely daft lyrics, it's Leeds quartet Biscuithead & The Biscuit Badgers. Having previously charmed us with their tales of wanting to co-exist with dinosaurs and losing the love of your life whilst eating a chinese, the group are back with their latest offering, the lactose-free "Soy Milk".
The song continues the band's mixture of quirky instrumentation and somewhat hilarious lyrics about the joys of the bean based liquid, including "there's nothing to spoil my enjoyment, cause when you were made no cows were exploited". In keeping with their other releases, the music video is a rather offbeat affair, with the members of the band going to their garden shed laboratory in an attempt to find out the secrets behind soy milk.
Biscuithead & The Biscuit Badgers might not be racing up the charts in the future, nor headlining the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury, but there is something incredibly charming about the group. Such is the timeless quality of "Soy Milk" that it could have been recorded 40 years ago, or 40 years in the future, sharing the same eccentric feeling of The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.
Leeds seems to be the gift that keeps on giving, musically at least. The latest group from the city to pop onto my radar is indie-pop upstarts Just Handshakes. Since forming at university several years ago, the band have gone on to support such groups as Mystery Jets and Pete & The Pirates, played the Indietracks Festival, and released an E.P as a cassette, something which is increasingly becoming shorthand for "quirky C86 inspired indie-pop."
Their latest single "London Bound" is a decent introduction to the band's sound, albeit one that is apparently darker than much of their previous material. Dreamy guitars, honeyed vocals & a knack for a great pop chorus places the track somewhere between Kirsty MacColl, Allo Darlin' and The Pains of Being Pure At Heart.
"London Bound" will be released as a free download on February 18th, and will feature on their debut album "Say It."
It's always nice to see new musical offerings from Leeds based quartet Biscuithead & The Biscuit Badgers. Their single "Seaweed Under the Sofa" was one of the funniest tunes of last year, I fact I learned to my detriment last year when I played the song on my radio show, only to burst out into fits of laughter for the next 2 minutes along with my co-host.
Their latest single, "Dinosaurs", treads a similar path to their last single, featuring ukulele, piano, and tuba powered basslines that would seem more at place in the music halls of the early 20th century than the present day. But as always, the greatest asset these biscuit-y fellows have is their devilishly fun lyrics. In the lyrics, they imagine how much better life would be if dinosaurs were still around, whilst acknowledging that if it did happen, they would probably wipe us out. It also contains one of the best, most bizarre lyric of the year, "You'll never see a tyrannosaur on the way to the shops, pretty much all of them have gone the way of Top of the Pops".
The group have also released a rather brilliant music video to accompany the release, has been shot in stop-motion animation and features the band as cardboard cut-out creations, which is an absolute joy to watch:
Hailing from Armagh and currently based in Leeds, Conchúr White records tender acoustic tunes under the pseudonym Silences. Of the tracks currently on his Soundcloud page, the song that most grabs my attention is the fragile "Ghosts". The song, with its piercing falsetto and stripped back production, calls to mind the early work of Damien Rice.
"Ghosts" is taken from his first solo E.P "Murder Your Darlings". Silences will be playing live with SOAK and Rachel Austin in McHugh's Bar on November 7th.
The sunny days of summer may be long over us (at least in Belfast anyway), but one band have just released a song that will hopefully add a bit of warmth into these cold autumn days. Born in Leeds and based in Nottingham, Born With Stripes make upbeat indie-pop inspired by The Lemonheads & Black Lips. Their latest single, "Sundream", is a lovely piece of guitar-pop, which calls to mind a version of The Pains of Being Pure At Heart in which their singer doesn't feel the need to hush his voice or hide it behind mountains of reverb.
What is it about Leeds and good music, seriously? That's not a rhetorical question by the way, I want an explanation as to why there's so much great new music coming out of the city at the moment. In the form of haiku, if possible.
The most recent band from the city to catch my attention are duo Fossil Collective. Having released their debut E.P to critical acclaim off the back of tours with Benjamin Francis Leftwich and Ren Harvieu, the band are gearing up to release their sophomore E.P. The first track to be taken from it is "On And On", which is a gorgeous piece of music indeed. Whilst the vocals call to mind James Walsh of Starsailor, the instrumentation seems to be rooted firmly into folk-rock, and even finds time to fit in a flute solo.
The band have also released a stop-motion music video for the track, although I should inform you that despite featuring a deer and a wolf ballroom dancing, it is a bit of a downer. It is recommended therefore that you line up some videos of cats doing cute things once this one concludes.
"On & On" is the title track of the 2nd E.P by Fossil Collective, and will be released on October 22nd.
Leeds based quartet China Rats first came to my attention earlier this year with their fabulous song "To Be Like I", a song that effortlessly mixes Vaccines-esque indie-rock with 50s rock & roll. Since then, the band have gone from strength to strength, being picked up for rotation on BBC Radio 1 and even headlining a stage at the Benicassim Festival when Bat For Lashes had to pull out. Not bad for a band who've only released one E.P to date.
The band will be releasing their debut single in September, but before that they have made one of their tracks available as a free download. Featuring a trippy guitar riff and high energy throughout, it's a fantastic single from the lads. The band are setting themselves up as a real prospect for the future.
Do you like your guitar music loud, shouty, and a little bit rough around the edges? Then Leeds based trio Cheerleaders might be right up you metaphorical street. Their debut single release, "Puzzles", is a sub-2 minute cavalcade of noisy, lo-fi guitars, shouty, slogan filled vocals and youthful energy. The cite The Replacements, The National and Husker Du among their influences, although they sound more like The Klaxons stripped of their rave-y, sci-fi side. They are still a bit away from reaching their potential, but it's a promising debut single from the lads.
If the critical success of Public Service Broadcasting releases are anything to go by, then it is clear in 2012 there is still a hunger for using spoken word samples as a launch point for musical ideas.
In addition to the aforementioned PSB, another artist using samples in this way is Leeds based group Fold. Fronted by producer Seth Mowshowitz, they take a more political approach to their work, using samples as a springboard to bring about social justice, although in a way that they claim is neither preachy, pretentious, or conceited."
Their latest single, "Mr President, We're In Trouble", features vocal samples from former U.S President Jimmy Carter, which acts as a biting inditement of over-consumerism. Even if you're not overtly political, then there's still a lot to like in this song, with the hard hitting production reminiscent of a less-polished Lemon Jelly.
"Mr President, We're In Trouble" will be released as a 7" single on September 3rd, with 75% of the proceeds going towards charitable causes.
Leeds based funpop band This Many Boyfriends are gearing up to release their next single. "(I Should Be A) Communist", which has been produced by Ryan Jarman of The Cribs, is a re-recording of a song first featured on their "Getting a Life With... E.P", and shows the band as charming, spiky and endearing as ever. The music video for the song has also been released, which an hilarious exercise in hipster-bating. Lovely stuff as usual from the gang.
(I Should Be A) Communist by This Many Boyfriends will be released on May 21st on a groovy red 7".
Leeds based funpop band This Many Boyfriends have announced the release of their new single "Starlings", which is their first release since last autumn's "Young Lovers Go Pop!", and their first release since the death of their guitarist Peter Sykes.
"Starling" sees TMB continue their penchant for writing short, snappy, indie-pop tunes with lots of heart and just as many hooks. Built around an infectious guitar hook, the song is about loving birds, as well as being in love with a bird, which sees the song working on more levels than one. It's a great, fun single, and hopefully will see the band gain a few new followers.
"Starling" by This Many Boyfriends will be released with a fanzine made by the band themselves, which will be released on February 20th. The band will be touring the UK at the end of February/beginning of March with both Allo' Darlin and The Cribs (no dates on this side of the pond just yet, but fingers crossed).
Part two of The Metaphorical Boat's tips for 2012 features five bands from outside Ireland, and includes one from the USA, and two from Leeds (believe me, I'm surprised as well).
Emperors Club
The only American based group on the list, Iowa based quintet Emperors Club form the missing link between American alt-rock and Britpop, with the band citing both The Charlatans and Big Star as influences on their sound. Their debut E.P, October's "The Castle", is a fantastic introduction to the band, from the spiky title track, through to the Stroke 9 meets McAlmont & Butler grooves of "Our Time", through to the David Gray-esque "Brooklyn" showing a band with a classic sound, updated to the 10s.
With a full length album planned in the next year, the next 12 months should see the rise to power of Emperors Club.
Based on their latest E.P, "Imperial Godess of Mercy", Oxford based quintet Fixerscould be best decribed as psychedelic indie rock with shades of Animal Collective. However, the group are not afraid to embrace pop, as evidenced from their siren sampling single "Swimmhaus Johannesburg" (a song that surprisingly made the daytime playlist on BBC Radio 1).
The start of 2012 will see the group supporting Kaiser Chiefs on tour, before re-releasing "Iron Deer Dream" in February, followed by an album release around April.
Tribes
Since rock music fell largely out of favour with the general public around 2008, every end-of year tip list has featured at least one artist that promises to bring rock hurtling back into the mainstream. The Drums were on many pundits lists in 2010, whilst the hopes of 2011 were very much put on the shoulders of The Vaccines. Could 2012 be the year of Camden fourpieceTribes? Having released three strong singles in 2011, the most recent of which being "When My Day Comes", the band have built up a reputation for their youthful, Britpop inspired tunes and raucious live performances.
A timely re-release of the single that made me fall in love with the group in the first place, "We Were Children", is being released ahead of their debut album "Baby", released on January 16th. Their guitarist Dan's taboid friendly relationship with Scarlett Johannson should keep them firmly in the public eye over the next 12 months.
This Many Boyfriends
Leeds based "funpop" band This Many Boyfriends came to my attention during the summer through their fantastic "Young Lovers Go Pop!" single. However, they have been together for many years, releasing an E.P in 2010, featuring such charming songs such as "I Can Be a Communist" and "I Don't Like You (Cos You Don't Like the Pastels)".
With a single on Angular Records under their belt, the band are shaping up for 2012 to be their biggest year yet, with a new single scheduled for February (complete with a silly fanzine drawn by the band), gigs with Allo Darlin', and the possibility of an album before the end of the year. Let's hope that the fun continues with This Many Boyfriends.
Various Cruelties
When a band plays on Later...With Jools Holland before they've even released an album, they are surely destined for great things (or have a brilliant PR/management team, although the two are not always mutually exclusive). This bodes well for London (via Leeds) based Various Cruelties, whose appearence on the flagship show has seen a boost in their popularity, even making the Radio 1 playlist this week with "Great Unknown".
It could be possible to compare their chances to those of The Vaccines last year, who had only been together for a few months before being signed in a flurry of hype and also playing on the aformentioned BBC2 show before releasing a single. The band even supported The Vaccines in their earliest days together. However, that is where the comparisons end, for whilst The Vaccines trade in angular indie rock, Various Cruelties offer a more soulful approach to their music, with Motown influences abound.
Their debut album will be released on April 2nd.
And those are The Metaphorical Boat's tips for 2012. Do you agree with the suggestions, or are there any other artists that you feel should be making a mark in the next year? Be sure to leave a comment to let me know.
I've never really understood the idea of the anti-folk genre. From my extensive research on the subject (read: searched for it on Wikipedia), I have gathered that it is a post-modernist movement that seeks to challenge the accepted norms of the folk genre.
And it is under this banner that Leeds based performer Joshua Lewis, aka Soulmates Never Die finds himself under. His laptop recorded E.P, "Dance Contest Winner", is a raw, brutal, and incredibly frank set of songs that melds delicately strummed acoustic guitar with lyrics that feel as if they were ripped straight from Mr Lewis's diary.
When a singer croons that "I sometimes wish I was dead, but I think that I don't really mean it", like Joshua does over a familiar 4-chord melody on "Wound On My Fingers", you start to realise that this is a performer that wears his heart on both his sleeves. Other songs on the E.P deal with feelings of inadequacy ("S*** Hot Haircut"), and wanting to meet up with someone who you're not completely sure of ("Old Canal").
"Dance Contest Winner E.P" by Soulmates Never Die is available to download now.
There is a brooding charm that shines throughout the work of Leeds based fourpiece Post War Glamour Girls. On their upcoming single, "Spitting Pearls", the band seem to channel a similar energy to fellow avant-garde rockers Wild Beasts.
What seperates them from them however (aside from refraining from falsetto), is a demented sense of menace that builds as the song progresses into a cataclysm of rage towards the conclusion. The sounds of Post War Glamour Girls might be a bit of an acquired taste, but it one that you would savour again and again.
"Spitting Pearls" by Post War Glamour Girls will be released on Monday 10th October on Sturdy Records on download and limited edition 7", along with double A-side single "Ode to Harry Dean".
Listening to Leeds based 4-piece Biscuithead & the Biscuit Badgers, I can't help but be reminded of the episode of "The Mighty Boosh", where Vince and Howard, in an attempt to out-retro a rival band, perform a gig in medieval garb whilst playing a lute.
Biscuithead & the Biscuit Badgers don't go back as far as that, of course, but their track "Seaweed Under the Sofa" is a throwback to the music of the 1930s, with it's George Formby-esque ukelele and incredibly English vocalist telling a tale of losing a girl whilst eating a Chinese. It's a devilishly fun tune.
Biscuithead & the Biscuit Badgers will be releasing their 2nd album, "The Greatest Show on Toast", on September 19th.
Leeds based group Cut Out Shapes have been well received on the local scene, and have supported groups such as Chase & Status and Love Amongst Ruin in recent months. Having listened to "Never Change", it is easy to see why.
"Never Change" is a powerful slice of indie-rock, that mixes the vocal power of U2 with the instrumentation of Miles Kane, with a little bit of Britpop also-rans Geneva thrown in for good measure.
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