Flashback Friday.. Oasis - 'The Hindu Times'

Love or loathe the Gallagher Bros., there is no doubt in my mind that, whatever generation you were born into - old or young, teenage to middle age - you have the lyrics of at least one Oasis song seared into the fleshy crevices encased within your cranium.

Perhaps somewhat subconsciously, out of the big '90's bands, Oasis were probably my favourite. Yes, I admit, I'm not a massive Britpop fan. In fact, it very nearly grates on my nerves. Sorry. Looking back, in the '90's you either worshipped Britpop or were just unashamedly pop. Even though I was incredibly young then, I was sufficiently aware of the last wave of Cool Britannic patriotism; the Union Jack was emblazoned everywhere - including Geri Halliwell's tea towel of a dress circa BRIT Awards 1997, and riding the crest of that wave was Oasis, the perfectly imperfect, hedonistic band that every newspaper and music magazine loved to adore and vilify alternately.

Fast forward to 2002, and Oasis come with an essence of nostalgia, but wafting that aside, Heathen Chemistry had some amazing singles; 'Little By Little', 'Songbird', 'Stop Crying Your Heart Out', and this forgotten gem, 'The Hindu Times'.

And it really is forgotten, as (in)accurately as YouTube viewing stats go, this video has only been watched 836,668 times, despite being uploaded more than four years ago. If you were asked to name an Oasis song off the top of your head, it most likely wouldn't be this one, but even though it appears to have become enshrouded within the abyss of space and time, it's still incredibly good! Evidently, the lyrics of the song have nothing to do with the song title, as 'The Hindu Times' was already decided upon prior to the lyrics having been written, most likely because of the sitar sounding guitar, although many would attempt to connect the two and result in 'religion = euphoric high'.

Oasis turbulently departed in 2009 after an apparent Gallagher altercation, and the band (minus Noel) currently exist under the new umbrella of Beady Eye, whilst Noel's solo venture is Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.

http://www.noelgallagher.com/
http://www.facebook.com/noelhighflyingbirds
https://twitter.com/NoelGallagher

http://www.beadyeyemusic.com/
http://www.facebook.com/BeadyEyeOfficial
https://twitter.com/beady_eye

New Waves.. Delphic - 'Baiya'

Edit: Snazzy new video has been debuted - woop! 

Manchester band, Delphic, return with 'Baiya', the first song to début  from their second album, Collections.

'Baiya' is reminiscent of the electro-pop vein of the singles taken from their previous 2009 album, Acolyte, albeit perhaps more chart friendly, with synths flowing as opposed to being used for choppy rhythms a la 'Doubt' and 'Halcyon', incorporating oriental strings around the refrain 'All hell is breaking loose' and walking the fine line between modern and comfortably retro. It is also not the euphorically hectic maelstrom of noise that was previously released song, 'Good Life' (I had no idea that this song existed until today!)

That said, I'm so glad to see/hear of Delphic again! I loved Acolyte and will most likely love Collections when it's released.

Collections is released on 28th Jan 2013.

http://www.facebook.com/delphicmusic

http://www.delphic.cc/

http://soundcloud.com/delphic

Rapid Review.. Bloc Party - 'Four'

If there's one thing that this review isn't, it's time effective. Once again, apologies, part 1 - because I didn't even get this album 'til a month or so ago, and part 2 - becuase after I started writing this review, I actually forgot that it was there...

The fourth album by London based quartet, Bloc Party, imaginatively entitled.. erm, Four, dropped in late August (almost 3 months late - sorry!) and in my opinion it is easily one of the best efforts from the band as of yet, and most surprisngly of all...

It's heavy.

Yup, who'd have guessed it?

Four is a tightly wound, if not ragged beast; a scruffy powerhouse collection of songs that you really wouldn't expect from an often soppy and sentimental band such as Bloc Party. That's not to say that they don't do soppy and sentimental well, and sure, they have the some amazing belters under their, er, belts (puns galore!), but for this quantity to be in a Bloc Party opus is unheard of.

The album itself is incredibly consistent in the quality of the songs, but unlike their previous albums, it feels like there is no real stand-out track. Silent Alarm had many - 'Banquet', 'Helicopter', 'So Here We Are', A Weekend In The City - 'The Prayer', Intimacy - 'Mercury', but with Four, a track doesn't leap to mind. At a push, I'd say 'Kettling', and at a further push, perhaps 'Octopus' (with it's Daft Punk guitar), whilst '3x3' surprisingly wouldn't sound out of place with Matt Bellamy on vocals - it really reminds me of something old Muse would have concocted.

Somehow, this review had turned out sounding negative - it's really not! If you've ever had reservations towards Bloc Party, end them by listening to this. They were never run of the mill, and always worth your attention, but with Four they grab you buy the collar and shake you and pull you until your reservations have been blown to smithereens.

Something which I don't think anyone, fans and fence riders alike, was expecting.

http://blocparty.com/
http://www.facebook.com/blocpartyofficial
https://twitter.com/BlocParty/

New Waves.. The Family Rain - 'Trust Me... I'm A Genius'

Bit slow this week, I've been busy with uni and seeing my boyf and friends, as well as being ill.

But anyways, his rowdy little number is by Bath based trio, The Family Rain. 'Trust Me.. I'm A Genius' is reminiscent of classic rock turned bluesy, but with a cocky edge that only the young can pull off, making the song feel exciting and relevant as opposed to tired.

To me, it brings to mind a bulkier and less lazy sounding Black Box Revelation, with Jack White added for some extra oomph.

The single is out now via iTunes. 

There's a limited run (250 copies) of 7" available through Rough Trade at £4.99, though these don't seem to be available until 7th Jan 2013.

What do you think of The Family Rain/ 'Trust Me... I'm A Genius'?

http://www.facebook.com/thefamilyrain

https://twitter.com/thefamilyrain