Radio Dept. - Lesser Matters

SPOTIFY LINK: Radio Dept. - Lesser Matters

How more indie can you get than the first Radio Dept. album Lesser Matters? None. None more indie.

The Depreciation Guild

DOWNLOAD: Depreciation Guild - Dream About Me

I can’t think of any other word to describe The Description Guild other than ‘lush’. Washes of shoegazed reverb and shy effeminate pretty boy vocals with pop jangles and MBV beats that if you didn’t know you’d swear they were using a drum machine. You can float away on a sonic cloud listening to their new single Dream About Me it's so... dreamy. ‘Bliss’ - that’s another word.

Astra - The Rising of the Black Sun

Good eve humble folk of interwebshire, I come with a message from another realm; a respected land of kings, queens, knights and noblemen – good decent folk, but it is being threatened by Beelzebub's children (no, not Machester of Unitedshire) goblins, ogres (well Wayne Rooney will turn up), demons and dragons want to take over our fair land. They do not do this with swords or sorcery, oh no, they use the power of Astra’s mighty prog rock, the like we haven’t seen since the 70’s from King Crimson, Yes and Black Sabbath.

Their demonic disc of doom The Weirding is far too powerful for our humble defences, we fear we may have to give into this irresistible unholy rock force. Tis truely the work of the beast.

Ape School - Wail To God. The greatest music video ever

DOWNLOAD: Ape School- Wail To God
SPOTIFY ALBUM LINK: Ape School- Ape School

Monkeys and boobs: just two of my favourite things; music (good music) is also biggy on the favourite list. Ape School are doing a good job of covering all these areas on what could be the greatest music video ever (though I don’t really watch the things anymore).

Apeschool are on Counter Records a fine subsidary of Ninja Tunes

The Heavy- How You Like Me Now?

DOWNLOAD: The Heavy- How You Like Me Now?

Always been keen on The Heavy since I first heard ‘That Kind of Man’ two years ago, it did what soul should do grab you by the balls; none of this “oh it’s a grower” rubbish, great immediate pop with fire in it's gut. His voice is slightly less Curtis Mayfield, replaced with a hearty blues vocal without being too put on, big meaty beats and beefy horns, it’s wig shaker and foot stomper.

Beck (again). His Song (in the loosest sense of the word) for Harry Partch

DOWNLOAD: Beck- Harry Partch

I am not even going to pretend I know a jot about Harry Partch, did a quick wiki and google hunt, he sounds pretty interesting if not ridiculously inaccessible. I'm going to shamefully lift text about the man from Beck's website.


"Harry Partch was a composer of what is termed Microtonal music. He developed his own systems of tonality using frequencies and notes found between those in western traditions. He felt they could elicit emotions and reactions from the listener conventional tonality couldn't. He built his own proprietary instruments to play his work. Similar in the sound to instruments found in eastern music such as the koto, taiko, or gamelan, they are ultimately uncategorizable. He spent years traveling as a hobo during the depression and incorporated everyday speech into his melodic lines. He transcribed graffiti and used it as text. He is one of the great musical thinkers and innovators of the last century."

The ten minute plus ode to Harry has nothing to hang your coat on, drifting from country to psych to hip hop to baroque to the indescribable, an interesting piece. You still won't get it after a 100 listens though.

Arctic Monkeys - Cornerstone.

Not one for the world of Heat magazine, I find it a little cheapening that Alex Turner goes out with the pout on a stick that is Alexa Chung. I thought you were down to earth man, all this T4 presenter courting simply turns you into "Alexa's indie rocker boyfriend". I have friends who find Alexa Chung attractive, actually a hell of a lot of men find her so, I say Alex dumps her and gets himself some anonymous beauty with boobs (you can't be doing with that teenage boy chest) and lose the pointless distraction.

I think this song may have been written about her; I try and block it out, because unlike Chung's nonchalant 6th form presenting it's enjoyable to listen to, it's lovely to listen to and unlike Chung it smells of beautiful sincerity and substance.