The So-So Sailors - Des Moines

 Between 2010 and 2011, I spend 10 months in Nebraska studying at a liberal arts college as part of an Northern Ireland/U.S.A exchange programme. One of the purposes of the programme was to hold lectures to educate Americans on life in Northern Ireland. For me, this meant an opportunity to educate Nebraskans about the rich history of music from our great place, from Them to Snow Patrol and everything in between, which includes The Undertones, Stiff Little Fingers, Therapy?, The Four of Us, Ash, Divine Comedy and, for a laugh, Baltimora. Whether I did a good job of spreading the word of our music remains to be seen, but if we see a band from Nebraska contributing to a tribute album to "1977" in the near future, then you know I did a good job.

But anyway, I'm digressing slightly from my main point, which is to introduce you to The So-So Sailors, who seem to have taken the opposite path to myself. Based in Omaha, Nebraska, the group are currently signed to Belfast based label No Dancing (the home of The Wonder Villains & Elspeth), and show off their Midwesternly charm with their first single "Des Moines", which is currently available as a free download. The track is a sprawling, slow burning track that calls to mind a chilled out Bruce Springsteen. It's an understated, yet highly effective introduction to the band. If The So-So Sailor's are indeed Nebraska's musical ambassadors to NI, then they have done the Cornhusker State very proud indeed.

"The Young Hearts E.P" will be released on June 10th.

Duke Special - Punch of a Friend

When I posted about Duke Special's cover of "You Spin Me Round" earlier this month, I was quite unprepared for the overwhelmingly positive response it got from visitors to the blog. People have called it an absolutely sublime song, complimenting both the radical re-interpretation of the song and Mr. Wilson's great voice (as well as his Belfast accent).

Yet one thing I heard from people who loved the cover was that they had never heard of Duke Special before hearing the song. This is rather unfortunate; although the Duke is very highly regarded within the Northern Irish music scene, it seems that further afield he doesn't seem to enjoy the same status. It seems that the unavoidable presence of "Freewheel" on Radio 2 around 2007 and the corresponding V2 released album, "Songs From the Deep Forest", seem to have been all but forgotten.

Thankfully the Duke is still bringing out fantastic new music. This week he released the first single from his upcoming album. "Punch of a Friend", which is available for the low, low cost of an email address, sees him dealing with hopeless romanticism in his own vaudeville-esque style. The song sees some exquisite woodwind added to the mix, as well as strings that wouldn't sound out of place in a Lee Hazlewood song.

"Punch of a Friend" will feature on Duke Special's upcoming album "Oh Pioneer", which is released on June 17th. He embarks on a UK wide tour in May, which features a concert with the Ulster Orchestra in the Ulster Hall, Belfast on May 12th.

Not Squares - Fall Far

 

New material from Belfast based dance-rock trio Not Squares is a great cause for celebration. Their 2010 debut album "Yeah OK" showcased their own idiosyncratic style which won them fans both in their hometown and further afield. After all, how many groups can write a song about vomiting and still make it the most catchy and infectious song released that year? (Pun only half-intended). They have also developed into one of the best live acts in Northern Ireland, with the atmosphere at their high energy gigs being an absolute joy to behold. 

It is under this backdrop that the band have released the first taster from their sophomore album. "Fall Far" sees a change of direction for the band. Seemingly abandoning the 'mantra' approach to lyrics that defined their first album, the song is perhaps the closest the band have come to using a more traditional chorus-verse-chorus pop structure. It's a completely irresistible track, with it's heavily vocoded vocal hook and funky bassline driving the song along very nicely.

"Fall Far" by Not Squares is available now to download for free.

Future History - Surrounded by Faces

 

 

Of all the bizarre facts that I have read about the recording of albums, I don't think I have come across anything as off-beat (and heartbreaking) as one from Canadian alt-rock band Future History:  "We...sampled a whale that produced the wrong frequency, which consequently ostracized her from other whales because she didn't communicate properly." Let that act as a relief to anybody whose parents disapproved of you joining a band. It could be much worse - at least you won't be abandoned by your own species for making music (Justin Bieber aside, that is).

But anyway, Future History's latest single, "Surrounded by Faces", is an expansive rock tune that is exquisitely produced, emotive without sounding too angsty, and despite an overwhelming instrumental onslaught, it has a surprisingly 'earthy' feel to it.

"Loss:/Self", the debut album from Future History, is out now, with "Surrounded by Faces" available as a free download until the end of May. 
 

This Many Boyfriends - (I Should Be A) Communist

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".