Girls Names - Reticence

Two years after the release of their largely liked 2nd album "The New Life", Belfast quartet Girls Names (a band whose name I still think is missing an apostrophe somewhere) have announced the release of a new LP near the end of the year, following the release of a mammoth 11-minute single a few months previously. The band have premiered the lead track  from the album, which acts as a welcome return for the band.

Oddly enough, once you get over the elongated krauty intro, "Reticence" gives way to what is quite possibly the most upbeat Girls Names song to date. There's still the same post-punk influences that the band have been known for, but this time it's a little less Joy Division, a little bit more Franz Ferdinand, but still unmistakably the same of GL. Whether this means that the band are going for a more 'mainstream' sound isn't clear yet, but it is enough to satiate the appetite for anyone awaiting its eventual release.

The third album from Girls Names,  "Arms Around a Vision", will be released on October 2nd.

Nick Raven - Nineteen Fifty Three

The post-punk revival bandwagon trundles on, this time in the form in New Zealand's Nick Raven. Nick's certainly ensured that his music has a certain level of class to it, getting in Manics producer to add his musical nous to his new single, "Nineteen Fifty Three".

If you've even a passing interest in the genre, you're unlikely to hear anything revolutionary in the song, but that doesn't mean that its devoid of merit, quite the opposite. It's a finely produced song which is surprisingly warm and uplifting in spite of its generic conventions. If one was to compare it to current bands, it would sit somewhere in between Girls Names and Swim Deep. There's nothing really new about "Nineteen Fifty Three", but what's wrong with that?

The song is available to download on a pay what you want basis.

Blog Collective - The VPME

Over the next few months, The Metaphorical Boat, alongside Drunken Werewolf, The VPME, The Blue Walrus & God Is In The TV, will be looking at some of the music that our fellow music bloggers have been raving about as part of the Blog Collective. Each month, we will be focusing on one of the music blogs in the Collective and picking out a few artists  from said publication that we think you will enjoy.

In May, the focus is on The VPME, the Liverpool based blog run by Andy Von Pip. The blog tends to feature a lot of post-punk and jangly indie-rock, genres that TMB very much approve of. The VPME was one of the first music blogs that I would take the time to read on a daily basis whenever TMB first got going, so it's fair to say that it's a blog I have a lot of respect and love for (especially given that it's written quite a bit about one of my favourite local bands, Wonder Villains). He's also pretty funny and biting in equal measure on Twitter, so well worth a follow if you're in to that thing.

Here's a few tracks that have featured on The VPME that we think you might enjoy -

Cruising - You Made Me Do That

The VPME - "‘You Made Me Do That’ is a grimy, brooding depraved slice of f***** up distorted subterranean punk which crowbars your skull open."

TMB - Given that the band is a supergroup containing members of fantastic Irish bands Girls Names, Sea Pinks & September Girls, it's fair to say that we're going to like this one. "You Made Me Do That" is a primal, snarling, lo-fi, chainsaw-buzzing gem of a track that will get under your skin.



The Beaches - Little Pieces

The VPME - "‘Little Pieces’ melds post-punk rhythms, synths new-wave guitars and lip curling attitude packed vocals with style, sass, and substance."

TMB - If you're a fan of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, then you'll find The Beaches and "Little Pieces" an insatiable prospect



Desperate Journalist - Happening

The VPME -  "...there is a tangible sense of righteous anger burning away at the core of their glorious incendiary post-punk noise."

TMB - the fact that they're named after an early session track by The Cure should tell you everything you need to know about the London band. "Happening" is a wonderfully luscious post-punk tune, albeit one that doesn't neglect its melodic centre.



Loom - Yosoko

The VPME - "sounds like the Sisters Of Mercy colliding with Nirvana"

TMB - Even without their familial connections (as The VPME points out, the lead singer of the band's brother is in The Horrors), it's safe to say that Loom were always going to do well. "Yosoko" is a great, uncomplicated rock tune that's happy to get straight to the point.



Luna Green - Swedish Strawberries

The VPME - "...whilst it may throw the occasional nod to Lana and compatriot Lykke it also manages to sound refreshingly avant-garde and slightly off the wall."

TMB - Yes, the vocal similarities to Ms Del Rey might be a bit distracting to some people, but unlike her, there's a real sense of playful fun within "Swedish Strawberries".

Moscow Metro - Spirit of a City (E.P)

It has been over a year since first being introduced to Limerick based 4-piece Moscow Metro* through their wonderful debut double-A side containing the tracks "Spirit of a City" and "Cosmos" for free, which sounded near perfect in spite of the band only being together for a few months at the time of recording. Now fast-forward 12 months, and as a result of the initial love for the band, they are releasing their first E.P, "Spirit of a City".

Unsurprisingly, the E.P kicks off with the title track, and as we said last year, the song is a "mid tempo anthemic rock number in the mode of The Killers or The National, tailor made for multi-seated stadiums and for closing festival proceedings", and 12 months onwards, we stick firmly by that appraisal. The second track "Future Fades" shares a similar musical DNA, and is just as enjoyable. In fact, you can pinpoint the exact moment when the audience will go mental when this one is played live - it's at 1:35 in.

"Headlights" is a more subdued, shoegaze-y track, with the guitars turned down ever so slightly and the percussion slightly more purposeful, one that fans of Jesus & Mary Chain might get excited by. "Where It All Ends", the 'official' closing track** is similarly subdued, although it erupts into something magical by its end, a little bit of joy beneath the darkness that has gone before it.

"Spirit of a City" deserves to be the release that introduces Moscow Metro to a swarm of new fans. Last year, we said that they should be your new favourite band. 12 months on, we stand by that assessment. If you like your punk a little past the post, your guitars loud, and your darkness as anthemic as possible, then "Spirit of a City" is the release you have craved all these years.

"Spirit of a City" is available to purchase as of today.



*Written as M O S C O W M E T R O, but for the sake of my thumbs and space bar (given that it's highly likely we will be featuring this band again on numerous occasions), I will refrain from typing it in this way.
**The wonderful "Cosmos" has been left as a hidden track, presumably because its sound wouldn't flow in the context of the E.P. This is a shame, as I feel it's their strongest song. Oh well, one can hope that its hidden nature means that they'll have big plans for it further on down the line.

M O S C O W M E T R O - Spirit of a City/Cosmos

It's not often that the debut recordings from a brand new group appear to the world so fully formed that you'd think that they have been around for years, but this is exactly the case with the debut double A-side from M O S C O W  M E T R O. The band are based in Limerick, but contain members from both Ireland and San Francisco, giving their sound a real transatlantic feel.

The first track, "Spirit of a City", is a mid tempo anthemic rock number with a haunting undercurrent, very much in the mode of The Killers or The National. It is the sort of song that seems tailor made for multi-seated stadiums and for closing festival proceedings.

"Cosmos" on the other hand is a much stronger track, one which is very much indebted to post-punk. The verses of the song call to mind the material of Joy Division and "Seventeen Seconds" era songs from The Cure, before the chorus  enters into anthemic mode (the group's favourite type of mode), with a sense of angst that would not sound out of place on a Placebo track.

It is not often that this blog gives in to hyperbole, but in this case an exception will be made. Based on these two tracks, M O S C O W  M E T R O are your new favourite band. Both "Spirit of a City" and "Cosmos" represent a near-perfect debut for the Limerick guys. These are songs that deserve to be played on radios nationwide, ascend the Hype Machine, and be downloaded by thousands.

Both tracks by M O S C O W  M E T R O are available to download for free.