MP3: Buttonhead - Kitson/Lucerne

Input in the genres into the machine. Interlace and cross fade. Mix and match. It’s all a bit too much, the super-music-computers overheats, over rotates and oscillates out of control. We are left with folk that is a triumph of brightness, and subtle, accommodating post-rock.

It is at moments frantic, melodies become epic and evolutionary, shedding shards of rainbows and sorrowful laments. Buttonhead grab the four corners of the indie-pop world in Kitson / Lucerne, they shake it, and awaken a lost taste, all on at their own pace. The female vocals, have an easy reference point in Deerhoof, but this has a different sort of drive. It’s music that I want to hear afresh every morning.

Buttonhead are from London, they’re looking for a new singer are going to be gigging in November again reglardless of whether they find one or not… myspace.com/buttonhead

Tags: London, not-folk-music by Mike Smith
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MP3: Elle S’appelle - She sells sea shells

It’s just relentless, and about as grand as is possible from three indie-popsters only 73 days old. There’s so many levels to it all, and absolutely no walk-through. Elle S’appelle sing their melodies best when leaning a little too far out of old, wide open windows, then tumbling down old creaky stairs when they the see hail coming down in the summertime, adding a whole new dimension to the water fight going on in the streets below. It’s fun and very very enjoyable.

Elle S’appelle will sell “Little Flame b/w S.S.S.Ss” to you later this year. Hear it @ myspace.com/ellesappelleband

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NBGL is in the grips of renewal, expects updates every two days for the foreseeable future!

Tags: Johnny 5 Is Alive, Not London, not-folk-music by Mike Smith
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Really good new British music from really good writers who live in the mp3 blog world. This feature reoccurs fortnightly-ish.

Music For Robots recommends To My Boy with some of the finest music writing of the year “this is the only band in whose hands I’d trust my life. They’ll flip some switches, drop some science on the dancefloor and kickstart the artificial gravity party. It’s about time someone made a fun record without being so nu rave about it.” Palm’s Out Sounds say it’s a song abour “…our potential for founding a utopia in spaaaaccceee…”.

North America get’s it’s teeth into Los Campesinos, a band I’ve been championing for a number of months. Chromewaves says “they’re ridiculously cute and energetic and their sound is awash in instrumentation, shoutalongs and hand claps”.

Some music from my some-time home-town Sheffield. It’s Song’s of Green Pheasant on My Old Kentucky Blog … “Gyllyng Street is the perfect album to have playing in your car while you lay on the hood, looking up at the stars, reflecting on life.”

Eugene McGuinness’ debut album is out now and it’s getting some very positive reviews. I was privileged enough to attend his album launch, and he’s a top bloke, which is even better. Happy Clap says he has “an assured and almost certainly inherent ability to wrap polysyllabic tongue-twisters around skittering percussion and deftly strummed acoustic guitar lines as if the three were born together in a litter”

That’s all for now, I hope you are feeling a little more tuned-up. Enjoy your weekends wherever you may be.

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Tags: tuneup by Mike Smith
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MP3: After Christmas - Division by Photographs

Review:

They wind themselves up then began ambitiously spiralling around you, whilst doing 360s themselves - baiting you. You aren’t having none of it. They follow you anyway, spinning. They gradually overtake you, and you start spinning, but get dizzy and have to sit down on a park bench. Their indie-pop acquired energy is a little too much for you. afterchristmas are from glasgow and have played gigs with the thermals and midlake. it is all very mysterious.

(Or alternately: Like your Grandaddy kicking you in The Shins for insulting his newly aquired Flaming Lips, which he went to great effort to come by. Take that professional music journalists*: I can play silly games too!)

Info:
Myspace

Similar artists
The Research @ Hype Machine

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Tags: Johnny 5 Is Alive, not-folk-music by Mike Smith
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