Pens
MP3: Freddie

Chugging through garage distortion, and a steamy haze of treble and tonal riffs. For fans of Times New Viking. Anticipate a great live show.

http://www.myspace.com/penspenspenis

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Sky Larkin
MP3: Molten

Sky Larkin, alongside Los Campesinos and Slow Club, have been one of the new British bands I’ve been following for a few years, always enjoying their live show, and their new material. Since 2006 then they’ve played with Broken Social Scene, finished school, and churned out tunes that just about replaced a Sleater-Kinney shaped hole, a theme continued with Molten. Now they’ve signed to Wichita Records, recorded an album in the States and will being play dates in the U.S, and tour with Conor Oberst in Europe.

http://www.myspace.com/skylarkinskylarkin

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New British music elsewhere:

New Los Camps at Pitchfork. “some rougher guitars and abrupt time changes that might’ve been jarring on the album, it’s not bad at all for an outtake.”

New Slow Club over at their myspace in prep for a new EP release. Slow Club are all of my best-friends’ favourite band, and mine.

Said The Gramophone shares ‘Y’all is a fantasy islands: “it’s the guitar-line that marks your brain, colours your day, sends you humming a scale to yourself while you wait in line at the fruit-stand” YIAFI are from Scotland.

Chris over at Gorilla Vs Bear also digs Arch M, posting the track I didn’t, but it is as just as good as ‘Cat Grave’ which I wrote about last week. Chris says “it plays out like the theme to an all-too-short ethereal dream sequence.”

New Franz Ferdinand isn’t all that. Move along.

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The Morning News have relaunched their cultural coverage, ‘Digest,’ in a blog format.

I will be writing two or three blog entries each week for their ‘listening’ category. Recently I have written about the music of Burial (and my adventures in NYC), Shugo Tokumaru and James Blackshaw; entries will be appearing throughout the week.

So go and read the Digest Blog if you want to keep informed, enjoy superb writing and find about about some fantastic books in the ‘reading’ section–one of the blog’s strongest point.

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You can should email me at mike@nothingbutgreenlights.net with new British music and freelance work which I am now available to take.

[Photo credit: Onnufry and Michael Ronquillo]

Tags: UK Music by Mike Smith
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Spolkestra
MP3: Soil

Pop music mined in the Broken Social Scene vein. Scottish-folkster speed-jazz? Sure. It’s paced for the marathon, and glides in and out of caves in search of brass and freshly cut grass to roll around in.

The new album, being recorded in India (apparently) will (apparently) feature contributions from Final Fantasy, Deerhunter, Jarvis Cocker in 2009. Expect big things.

myspace.com/scotlandpagans

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Arch M
MP3: Cat Grave

Is this what dubstep did to Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys’ legacy? Dragged the summer out so that it lasts seven seasons? All the plants will die! Lofi-pop from that seventh season.

Arch M’s EP is free to download. myspace slash archm

Recent driving to the beach music that was successful and forced the sun out, as Arch M did.

Miracle Fortress
Throw Me The Statue
Quiet Village

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The Great British Tune-Up: What the rest of music blog world are saying about UK music…

Johnny Foreigner gets props in the Said The Gramophone mailbag: “Like instd of thnkng of witty twee songtitls they focusd on BEING AWSOME.”

Emperor Machine: “the sound of headless horsemen advancing through the avenues of London menacing like a squad of Victorian nazgul leaving a trail of jinxed traffic lights on their wake to eventually arrive at their final destination”: 20 Jazz Funk Greats share the psychedelic… something.

Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip played one of my gigs of the year, they take their show to North America for 20 dates this autumn. Go and listen to “Look for the Women” for rapping with Art Brut smarts and hip-hop BEATS.

Also:
MP3: Bat For Lashes - A Forest (from Perfect As Cats: a tribute to The Cure)

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Sleepingdog is Belgian, not British. Justification for posting non-British music: Belgium won’t be a country soon says New York Times. Don’t worry. No problem. We’ll take you in Belgium, but you must bring all of your musicians and beer with you. We’ll pay for the ferry.

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Photo credit: Theointarifa

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Tags: UK Music by Mike Smith
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