New Waves.. Kate Nash - 'OMYGOD!'

Almost a month a go I found a preview of this video and wanted to write a post, but to my utter frustration it was only available in America, grr! Anyway, the fact that you're now reading this means that this is is obviously no longer the case, therefore I present you with 'OMYGOD!' by Kate Nash!

Over the past year, my opinion of Kate Nash has undergone a bit of a renovation, along with her sound. Gone are the days of plinky plonk piano of 'Mouthwash' and in is the gritty sound first displayed in 2012's surprise release of 'Under-Estimate The Girl', however - despite the change in direction - the acerbic wit of 'Foundations' era Nash is most definitely still present. Her current album, Girl Talk, carries a lot of new wave influences and is easily her best effort yet, and 'OMYGOD!' follows suit. 

As the second single taken from Girl Talk, 'OMYGOD!' is an accessible radio friendly hit, which is by no means a bad thing. The song appears to discuss missing someone even though the relationship has ended, with the tempo of the song swinging like a pendulum between the plodding verse and energetic chorus. An unfortunate and often aggravating side-effect of the internet press for me is the invasion of privacy of notable relationships of musicians given coverage by the press. One such relationship was that of Nash and The Cribs' Ryan Jarman, and as a result I can't help but read into the lyrics of songs such as this, ultimately presuming that this was written about said ex. Such invasions of privacy are highly frustrating in the listening of subsequent music, though by no means as frustrating as for the people involved. Damn the Internet!

Anyway, if you've yet to hear Nash's new album, give 'OMYGOD!' a listen. I currently can't find a release date for the single, however the album is available in different mediums and downloadable via iTunes, Amazon and GooglePlay.

Nash is touring the UK in the autumn (click here for tickets) , with dates in Norwich, Birmingham, Cardiff, Belfast, Glasgow and Manchester.

http://www.myignorantyouth.com/

https://twitter.com/katenash

https://www.facebook.com/katenash

New Waves.. Superfood - 'TV' (Demo)

The somewhat mysterious 'B-Town' band Superfood are back with a new demo for their song 'TV', proving the band are not merely a one-hit-wonder of the underground world.

Whilst 'TV' does not capture quite the same charm as the aforementioned song, it is most definitely a grower in the same manner as 'Superfood' previously was, and with Blur-esque guitars and lyrics that practically beg you to sing along, the band are certainly tapping into their own interpretation of the current '90's revival.

Only the second song to ever surface from the band, it will no doubt add momentum to their rippling wave of national recognition following the debut of their first self-titled demo.

The band are currently touring the UK with a mid-tour stop in Amsterdam.

Do you like Superfood? What do you think 'TV'? Do you prefer it to their first song, 'Superfood'?

www.superfoodjunk.com
https://www.facebook.com/superfoodjunk
https://twitter.com/superfoodjunk

Flashback Friday.. Yeah Yeah Yeah's - 'Heads Will Roll'

What's this? A post? A Flashback - for Friday!?

I know, shocking isn't it?

Today I spotted that the Yeah Yeah Yeah's are doing a three date tour of the UK (Manchester O2 Apollo, Leeds O2 Academy, and London at Alexandra Palace), having recently announced the forthcoming arrival of their fourth album, MOSQUITO. As of yet, there doesn't appear to be an announcement in regards of a single, though Karen O has shocked my soul by bleaching her hair to a platinum blonde (!), so let's refresh ourselves of how AWEsome the Yeah Yeah Yeah's were in the years prior to their sabbatical!

Aside from Karen O's collaboration with Atticus Ross and Nine Inch Nails maestro Trent Reznor in their contribution  for the soundtrack for the western re-hash of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (they covered 'Immigrant Song'), the last we heard of the YYY's was 'Skeletons', the final single from It's Blitz!. The album was a departure from the YYY's of old, with Nick Zinner exchanging his guitars for keyboards on some of the tracks, and my favourite track from the album has to be a song where these aforementioned keyboards were used to full emphatic effect.

'Heads Will Roll' was a stomping indie dance-floor anthem, poppy, and perfect for club remixing (the A-Trak remix is very good!), and unlike anything that, at the time, they had done before. It's one of the standout tracks from the album, for me, along with 'Zero' and 'Soft Shock'.

Anyway, if you haven't heard 'Heads Will Roll' before, check out the creepy music video, and if you have - reminisce!

A reminder of the 3 UK dates:

1 May
Manchester
O2 Apollo

2 May
Leeds
O2 Academy

4 May
London
Alexandra Palace

New Waves.. FIDLAR - 'AWWWKWAARRRDDD' (feat. Kate Nash)

Recently, it would transpire that Kate Nash is not the 'Kate Nash' of old, especially after the recent riot grrrl experimentations of 'Underestimate the Girl'. However, somewhat unexpectedly for me, I found myself liking this new track that FIDLAR (Fuck It Dog Life's A Risk) debuted this week, on which she guested.

It's catchy enough in a manner that plods a long, a lazy day summer song (wrong time of year!) and kind of reminds me of Presidents of the USA and Weezer, although the song itself is somewhat repetitive.

Nash's contribution is less brash than her vocal on 'Underestimate the Girl', talking in the verses and screeching in the chorus.

FIDLAR themselves are doing a short UK tour in December, and their self titled debut is due for release in February 2013.

London Dingwalls (December 4)
Manchester Soup Kitchen (December 6) 
Glasgow Cathouse (December 7)

http://fidlar.bandcamp.com/
http://www.facebook.com/fidlarLA
http://fidlar.tumblr.com/

Elsewhere, Nash will play a Buffy the Vampire Slayer Halloween show in London's Hackney Picture House on October 31!

Her third album and an EP are due in the coming months.

New Waves.. Charli XCX - 'So Far Away'

At last, I can post this! I first wrote it when Charli XCX's You're the One EP came out in the UK last month and contained the full version of 'So Far Away'. It's been on loop on my iPod since, and now it's got it's own video (after waiting a feed that I could link in this post'.

'So Far Away' made its debut on the Charli XCX mixtape, 'HEARTBREAKS AND EARTHQUAKES', and was easily one of the standout tracks for me! It's a moody lament to love and it ebbs and flows darkly. It was highly addictive and Charli's spoken word/semi-rapping segments have a greater outing here, taking up the verses - and it's a rather unique quality that I've not found under her contemporaries.

The track made a full length appearance on the You're the One EP, and judging from her posts on he Facebook profile, will be accompanied by a music video in the upcoming months!

Charli XCX is still on tour, currently with Coldplay (!) and will then undertake her first UK headline solo tour in November! Another outing I need to be at!

With Coldplay – 19/09 - Warsaw

With Coldplay – 22/09 - Hannover

Parklife – 29/09 – Brisbane

Parklife – 30/09 - Sydney

Parklife – 01/10 - Perth

Parklife – 06/10 - Melbourne

Parklife – 07/10 – Adelaide

- - -

UK Tour

- - -

Headline Tour - 05/11 - Nation of Shopkeepers, Leeds

Headline Tour - 06/11 - Stereo, Glasgow

Headline Tour - 08/11 - HMV Institute, Birmingham

Headline Tour - 09/11 - Shipping Forecast, Liverpool

Headline Tour - 10/11 - Bodega, Nottingham

Headline Tour - 11/11 - Deaf Institute, Manchester

Headline Tour - 13/11 - In:Motion, Bristol

Headline Tour - 14/11 - Green Door Store, Brighton

Headline Tour - 15/11 - XOYO, London

https://www.facebook.com/charlixcxmusic

https://twitter.com/charli_xcx

http://charlixcxmusic.com/

Rapid Review.. Pure Love - 'Handsome Devil's Club'

'Handsome Devil's Club' is the second single by Frank Carter's new outfit, Pure Love. This was released in late May (!) apparently but totally passed me by and I only found it about a week ago after my friend told me that their Reading festival set was pretty awesome!

As I said in a previous Pure Love post, this is the complete opposite of what was occurring in the original Gallows; this is Carter showing his versatility as a songwriter and performer, and I really cannot get over what a surprisingly good singer he is! 'Handsome Devil's Club' is as poppy and catchy, if not catchier than 'Bury My Bones' was. I know that even if I tried to dislike this song, I would still end up liking it, and when Pure Love's debut album is released before the year is out, I will definitely be getting it. The only thing that I'm not so keen on are lyrics such as "Give me a good girl / The kind that wants to please / Give me a good girl / Down on her knees" - I know, I know, cue the feminist in me, and cue much eye rolling from male readers over picky modern females. Sexism will always exist to some degree, and I suppose I'd rather have fun singing it in a good song, rather than in some semi-R'n'B derogatory chart hit rapping about 'bitchez' and 'hoes' and the like.

Anyway, looking forward to both the Pure Love album, and the new Gallows stuff, and if my memory doesn't fail me then, as far as I'm aware, Pure love should be supporting Pulled Apart By Horses on their UK tour this autumn!

The 'Handsome Devil's Club' single, including 'Bury My Bones' and the videos for both songs, can be purchased for £1.99 on iTunes!

http://therealpurelove.com/
http://www.facebook.com/therealpurelove

New Waves.. Marina and the Diamonds - 'How to Be a Heartbreaker'

'How to Be a Heartbreaker' was recently revealed to be the third single taken from Marina and the Diamonds' second album, Electra Heart. Don't worry, if, like myself, you were a tad confused as to this song's whereabouts within the album; the track was apparantly written a week after the UK edition of Electra Heart was finalised and was, therefore, included on the US version of the album.

The song is fresh and catchy, a perfect summer track (unfortunately, the weather doesn't seem to be complying as of late!), and is again keeping in with the Electra Heart theme of  the rights and wrongs of love and relationships and female empowerment, and despite the song being very good, the theme feels a little tired.

It is a shame the song didn't exist before the Electra Heart UK was finished, as it would provide a bit more 'oomph' if placed strategically within the album. However, it is a much stronger song than 'Power and Control', which I was surprised to find chosen to be a single.

Marina is still on tour (!) and starts a UK jaunt in October; she's playing my hometown so hopefully I'll be able to cajole someone into joining me!

'How to Be a Heartbreaker' is due for release in September (unfortunately couldn't pin down the date) with a video to follow.

Check my review of Electra Heart here :)

http://www.marinaandthediamonds.com/

https://twitter.com/MarinasDiamonds

http://www.facebook.com/marinaandthediamonds

Leeds Metropolitan University (September 30)
Dundee Fat Sam's (October 2)
O2 Academy Liverpool (4)
Preston 53 Degrees (5)
Manchester Academy (6)
O2 Academy Leicester (8)
Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall (9)
London HMV Forum (11)
Lincoln Engine Shed (14)
O2 Academy Oxford (15)
Dublin Olympia Theatre (17)

Flashback Friday.. Florence and the Machine - 'Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)

Not completely random! This post was written yesterday whilst I was watching Reading Festival 2012 highlights, and I caught Florence's set. She really is a true artist, her singing is so powerful and effortless and her songs so heartfelt and emotional. And she completely embodies the music around her, as if channeling spirits at a seance! Catch her set whilst it's still on the BBC website.

Anyway, the first song that I ever heard by Florence was 'Rabbit Heart', and it was magical, the pop-folkiness of it and her huge belting voice had me bought from the get go! Her first album, Lungs was phenominal and so is Ceremonials. I can't sell it better to you than to just get you to listen to it! And Florence's career is going from strength to strength due to the Calvin Harris remix of 'Spectrum (Say My Name)', which went to the top of the UK singles chart.

http://florenceandthemachine.net/
http://www.facebook.com/florenceandthemachine
https://twitter.com/flo_tweet

Rapid Review.. Marina and the Diamonds - 'Electra Heart'

OK, OK, definitely a not so 'rapid' review on this one!

When the catchy pop of radio friendly 'Radioactive' appeared last year, I got rather excited for the second album from Marina Diamandis' outfit, Marina and the Diamonds. However, after 'Primadonna' was debuted, I became far less enthusiastic; what had happend to the quirky Marina of yesteryear?

'Primadonna'

Recently however, after skimming through some of the songs on Electra Heart on Spotify, I decided to give the album a proper go, and in doing this I realised that Marina was just as smart, opinionated and self critical as she ever was, if not more so, but her wit and intelligence was far more slickly hidden.

Take the dance pop of the album's first single, 'Primadonna' for example; many a fleeting ear would dismiss it as a teenager's 'Barbie Girl', and it was largely received so, giving Diamandis her highest charting single to date (Top 10 in UK chart), however lines such as 'living life like I'm in a play', 'I wanna be adored' and 'All I ever wanted was the world/ I can't help that I need it all/ The  primadonna life, the rise and fall' hint at darker themes that are displayed more explicitly in other songs, such as 'Lies' and 'Fear and Loathing', with Diamandis bluntly stating in that latter the lyrics of 'I've lived a lot of different lives/ Been different people many times/ I live my life in bitterness/ And fill my heart with emptiness'.

'Fear and Loathing'

Whilst the actual music of the album is dark, sometimes sterile, sometimes emotive pop, it surprisingly works better than you'd think, given the contrast to her previous, more theatrical/ musical direction of her debut album, The Family Jewels. 

I'll be honest, Electra Heart surprised me as being a better album than I'd thought it would. But to me, Marina's best quality in her song writing will always be her ability to take somewhat controversial and polarising themes for her songs and mask them within catchy pop songs, and Electra Heart is a far more expansive project than The Family Jewels, spanning media forms (songs, photos, music videos, trailers - it's an entire body of work), as well as Diamandis herself committing herself to the character of Electra Heart within her daily life (the retro outfits, the blonde(?) hair) for the duration of the project and tour. You can't accuse Marina of being anything but thorough!

'Radioactive'

Electra Heart is out now, as is 'Power and Control'.

'How To Be A Heartbreaker' the next single is released in US and UK on 15th October 2012.

http://www.marinaandthediamonds.com/

https://twitter.com/MarinasDiamonds

http://www.facebook.com/marinaandthediamonds

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New Waves.. Charli XCX - 'You're The One'

You're The One

New song by up and coming UK pop starlet, Charli XCX!

I seriously love this girl! She writes catchy songs that veer between slightly moody ('Stay Away') to channeling young love in 'Valentine' and a retro '80's feel in 'Nuclear Seasons'.

'You're the One' contains elements of all of the aforementioned tracks; slightly throbbing, haunting yet still very catchy, you'll no doubt be humming it for days. This is sophisticated electro-pop and this girl has a talented way with words. I look forward to every song I hear from her!

Her US EP is released 12th June!
Unconfirmed release date for UK as of yet.

https://www.facebook.com/charlixcxmusic
https://twitter.com/#!/charli_xcx
http://charlixcxmusic.com/