MP3: Magic Arm - Outdoor Games

Magic Arm’s Outdoor Games seems to be struggling to begin. It can’t immediately think an answer to those who say “I’m happy to argue with you till the cows come home, but I’m not going back, and I’m not moving from this spot” - Magic Arm want you to be ambitious and take a few steps; they just aren’t all that persuasive.

These lo-fi ambitionists sound fantastic on this side of the Atlantic tonight. Here we have a British band that sparkle with the subtleties of sound and glimpses of brand new sonic dimensions you knew existed but never looked for; repeated mantras become forgotten questions, as this occurs familiar but quieter sounds ascend and become just as grand as the first time someone asked you ‘what are you going to do about it’.

myspace.com/magicarm

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Meanwhile:

Brighton based 20 Jazz Funk Greats use a magical moment from retro computer game Golden Axe on the Sega to helpfully illustrate a point they are trying to make about electro-house bass-faces Math Head. This is how I like my musical criticism. (more)

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And at the same time, in a different place altogether

Dan at Said The Gramophone spoke about one of my favourite songs of the year, “Soko - I’ll kill her”, which the usual panache and finesse “…’growing up’ seems like a place you end up, not a place you go towards.”. It’s a song that resonates on fragile wavelengths. The first 100 seconds are glorious.

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I chose to play the Soko track first on my latest podcast. It is called Take Your Medicine and it is about 30 minutes long and features a lot of rather good new music. And a robot. Get it here.

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