Despite parting ways with their long-serving guitarist Evil Harrisons are going from strength to strength. In fact, they're positively gagging to go back into the studio.
Doctor John may be renowned as a laid-back Big Easy legend, but get him started on the Federal Government's treatment of his beloved New Orleans and he spits nails.
Despite a mix that virtually eliminated keyboards and favoured bass and drums over vocals that needed all the help they could get, the hits came thick and fast.
It’s roasting in the Big Top. Listless little clouds drift up from the smoke machine. But there is nothing listless about Mr. Baxter and his boys on a night like this.
Over the past six months Delorentos have found themselves in the not entirely enviable position of being tipped as the next big thing before they’d released a single note of music. Thus their debut EP finally arrives with great expectations. Fortunately, it’s a case of happy endings all round as the Dublin four piece pass their first test with flying colours. Indeed, you’d be hard pressed to recognise this as anything but the work of a band at the top of their game. Every aspect exudes pure confidence. The only possible worry, in fact, is that, with its twisted guitar riffs and awkward beats, they could find themselves tied a little too closely to the whole Franz / Bloc / Futureheads thing. Some lead, most follow and Delorentos are heading for the front.
If there was a worry that ‘Thou Shalt Always Kill’ was a glorious flash in the pan, then ‘The Beat That My Heart Skipped’ is equally glorious proof that the London duo might just be the real deal. Less consciously preachy than their debut, it adds a welcome personal angle to their sound before moving up a gear for the rant-filled, closing moments. With as much in common with US underground rappers such as Sage Francis and Atmosphere as the stuttering UK scene, this odd pairing could well be the surprise find of the year.
The big problem with The Hives is that, right from the start, they painted themselves into a corner with their outfits, attitude and two-dimensional garage rock. Actually, an ever bigger problem is that they’re not very good, but that’s an argument for another day. ‘Tick Tick Boom’ is essentially more of the same: all right, but nowhere near as good as ‘Hate To Say I Told You So’, a debut that they look more and more unlikely to match.
Clone impresses with this split release. Orgue Electronique’s ‘On A String’ is pure Chicago hedonism, the tight, doubling up claps setting the scene for a vicious 303 bass, while Legowelt’s subtle percussive twists and moody chords import the spirit of Nu Groove to Rotterdam.
It’s become fshionable to slag off Minus, but it’s hard not to be seduced by Pierce’s latest mushy, non-linear release. This doublepack ambles along unhurriedly, but Pierce is busy throughout, catching the listener off guard with visceral percussion, lurching bass licks and frazzled acid freakouts.
Detroit house producer Dixon returns with a release that takes inspiration from his techno contemporaries’ fixation with outer space sounds and, on the droning ‘Links’ a booming bass that makes Saunderson’s Resse project seem tame.
Tensnake’s original is a slamming, filtered house track, but it’s not a patch on Cosmic Sandwich’s remix, which plunges the bass to fathomic depths, laying down heavy acid lines and infectious bleeps.
