8 September 2008
Rob McCrae
Skepta, Krafty Kuts, Shortwave Fade, Kissing Kalina, The Breeders, Colbie Caillat, Deus, Mogwai, Honeyroot, Gotye
"Shortwave Set briefly mesmerise on the back of their Liars-meets-Postal Service breezy but melancholic pop pie with a slice of sunlight as topping."
Skepta – Rolex SweepPart of the Boy Better Know collective, which also contains fellow Rolex flag waver Wiley, Skepta has fashioned a fiendishly repetitive coda that is so artful that even Chris Martin did a dance to it at Coldplay’s recent Brixton gig. You could play it on permanent loop for days and life could continue uninterrupted.
Krafty Kuts – Dynamite Love
Breaks manipulator Krafty Kuts has taken a Freestylers instrumental, thrown it hopefully at a Dynamite MC vocal and the resulting gallimaufry will offer solace to all those who like their music to be moving at similar speeds to their furiously chomping jaw. At times it sounds tribal, the kind of tribal you might steer your boat far away from.
Shortwave Fade – Leave
Sometimes the whole packaging of a band can leave you reaching for the spilled bottle of prescription pills and history normally dictates that the music follows on the same heinous path. Not so with Shortwave Fade who climb out of their graphic design hell and briefly mesmerise on the back of their Liars-meets-Postal Service breezy but melancholic pop pie with a slice of sunlight as topping. Like a unashamedly dreamy holiday.
Dorp – Pigs Do Fly
As you’d expect from any group that bagged the production duties of U2/PJ Harvey fader mover Flood this single aims for stadium levels and though there’s a sense that this is a pre programmed formula, the sonics align with a band thrusting towards the mainstream. Even is they are described as “politically astute” in the press release.
Kissing Kalina – Here She Comes
They began as a one man project lorded over by singer/guitarist Danny Sanchez who mistakenly came up with the name Kissing Kalina but was still able to recruit the demurely named Lily Valentine as permanent muse. Via a chaotic selection of gigs in the gutters of the capital their blend of howling rock and roll and pulsing synths begins to make sense.
The Breeders – Bang On
Curious offering from the band that were as infamous for their crooked lyrical pursuit as they were for writing upbeat slacker anthem Cannonball and it propelling them like a rocket through the nineties. This revolves around the refrain “no-one loves me” and is so slight it might as well have been composed in the garage between courses at a family dinner.
Colbie Caillat – Bubbly
She’s got a flower in her hair and is clutching an acoustic guitar on the front cover which should tell you that this isn’t a political song and more something to showcase her soulful voice which is so pleasant it could advertise shower gel. A record executive might drift off into a gurgling reverie if he heard this until he realised that no-one needs another Shola Ama.
Deus – Eternal Woman
The Belgian super group survived the grunge vapour trails when they first rose to prominence and now they can just about able to pull off the undone shirt and tousled hair as mature songwriters with a pensive edge looking back on the halcyon days when everyone in Belgium knew who two thirds of them were. This is a slow number and infinitely more boring than their explosive guitar/electric violin numbers.
Mogwai – Bat cat
The Scottish band have long since made the music business sound easy largely by not bothering with lyrics and subsequently just unleashing some riffs and airing out sound sheets on a meek accepting public. This EP follows that formula but the hooks and the military intensity are missing but at the back of your mind you’re dimly aware that this will transform into a supernova at the live shows.
Honeyroot – It’s All Good
Just the name Honeyroot suggests something earthy and organic, something sweet but with sustenance. If I was a child and I had to draw a picture of the singer from my very own imagination then I’d give her dyed red hair, loads of bangles, a nose ring, some organic bread in the crook of her arm and a long flowing boho skirt. She’d only ever play in a glade or at the very least surrounded by trees.
Gotye – Learnalilgivinanlovin’
This Belgian/Australian singer songwriter feels that an illiterate song title bundled together will somehow translate his innate lust for life and sparkling joie de vivre. He might reach the top notes and snake his hips like a new age preacher extolling the powers of positive thinking but I bet when he goes home he spoons porridge into his gob with a tragedy infused expression.
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N said on September 10th 2008 [report abuse]
why you linked porridge to that gotye song is beyond me, it's great!