The Bedroom - The Big Up

Do you think that sleep is the enemy? Would you like to conquer that nocturnal demon for the foreseeable future? Well you're in luck, for Galway native Olan Stephens, aka The Bedroom has just released the music/video combination "The Big Up", which will probably keep you up for the next few days.

Following on from his debut single "Basquiat", "The Big Up" shares the former's hip-hop beats, monotone vocals and sinister samples, yet somewhat surprisingly adds some tropical guitar to create a real Frankenstein's monster of a tune. As for the music video, to call it unsettling would be an understatement. Somehow, they have managed to make ice-cream unnerving, which I imagine is what the video was aiming for.

The Bedroom is a very weird project indeed. It will most definitely be most people's cup of tea, it might be too left field, freaky, or niche for some people's tastes, but I think it wouldn't be hyperbole to say that there really isn't anyone in the music world doing what it is doing. Whether or not that's a good thing remains to be seen.

Wonder Villains - 33

With every post that this blog makes about Derry band Wonder Villains (and we've sure made a lot of them since 2011), there's always the worry that we'll run out of superlatives, or exciting Wonder Villains related events to mention. Thankfully, the band sure do like to make things easy for us all. Since the release of their last single, "Blonde", the group has enjoyed quite a lot of airplay on Radio 1, they played a storming set that the final Glasgowbury Festival, and recently held a semi-exclusive 'rock party' at the Sunflower Bar, playing more or less every single one of their songs they had written to date.

And to top things off, the band are now lining up to release their next single. Fans of Wonder Villains will already be familiar with "33" - it was originally released as the b-side of their first official single "Zola", and it is the song that the band normally kick off their set with. The song has since been re-recorded for inclusion on their upcoming debut album "Rocky" (which I have been told on good authority is fully recorded, release date to be confirmed), and is a corkingly fantastic pop song, complete with all the band's trademarks - stonkingly big pop hooks, a slight punk-y style, pop-culture infused lyrics (this time referencing both Jorge Garcia and one of the band's key influences, Weezer), and most crucially, a smile inducing sense of fun that no band could possible match. Not even Katrina & The Waves, and they flipping walked on sunshine.

It's good to see that like their last single, "33" has picked up a bit of support on Radio 1 and a few other stations. Wonder Villains are a band that need to be heard. With so much bad things in the world, it's great to have a group who can make everything sound 100% better.

"33" will be released on September 9th.

CAPE! - Disappear

A couple of months ago, we heard the song "Getaway" by Bristol artist Joshua Vincent, who was recording under the name Chapter House. The song was an impressive nugaze inspired track which sounded incredibly professional for a homemade demo, and we fell in love with the project. We did note however that given the similarity to an early 90s shoegaze group, the name might change in the future.

And we were right. Whilst Joshua is still making brilliant music, he has now recruited a 5-piece live band, and changed the project's name to CAPE!. The first song to be released post-moniker change is "Disappear", a song that continues the band's love affair with all things 80s sounding. With its heavily synthesized production, and slightly gloomy outlook, it calls to mind The Cure during "Disintegration", with a little bit of Simple Minds and The Horrors thrown in for good measure. It's another impressive, epic sounding track from Joshua & co, and although it's still relatively early days for the project, with such great tracks already under their belt, CAPE! will almost certainly be a force to be reckoned with within a year.

CAPE! will be playing their first gig in Bristol on August 24th, supporting Ducktails.

Southern - World Don't Shine

It's been over a year since this blog last heard from Belfast siblings Thom & Lucy, who record under their surname, Southern. Since then, things have gone rather swimmingly for them, with the now Liverpool based duo recently signing to Marathon Artists, who release material for Jagwar Ma among others.

Their latest single to be released is "World Don't Shine", which sees the siblings' vocals intertwining over a distinctively infectious blues guitar riff. Southern have been making some great tunes over the past few years, and with some serious muscle now behind them, they are in good stead to take on the wider world come 2014.

Beautiful Boy - Home

"Home" is the debut release from Beautiful Boy, a Brighton based quintet who members have been involved in several different groups over the past few years (two of them have played in The Ordinary Boys). It's a strong introductory track to the band, one which is very much in the upbeat folk mold of Mumford & Sons and the like. Starting with just vocals and strummed guitar, the song slowly builds up in a crescendo into a soaring climax over the space of three minutes.

"Home" is an incredibly strong opening salvo for Beautiful Boy, and given that the indie-folk sound is still relatively in vogue, the group should hopefully gain a few new admirers over the coming months.