Author Archives: Alex Knott

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She Makes War – Little Battles | Music Review

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It’s all about War these days. Good Old War, The War on Drugs, She Makes War. Terribly aggressive this life, ain’t it? Except it’s not really. Not when you listen to Laura Kidd’s She Make War, previously a Friday Five tip. No – she’s had her heart trampled on it but manages to sound lovely about it all. As someone who shouts at inanimate objects on a regular basis I can’t begin to empathise with her relative calmness.

There are two things to know about Ms Kidd – she’s incredibly beautiful and makes incredibly beautiful music. Ah yes and she does things all by herself. DIY. Oh go on then, she’s played bass for Tricky, A-ha and former Fame Academy winner Alex Parks. But don’t let that put you off though.

‘Little Battles’ is unmistakably a record documenting the end of a relationship that one wished hadn’t actually ended. Sadly it’s the war of art that means such great stuff is produced in these periods. There’s an edge of unpredictability in SMR’s sound – you never really know where the song’s going to lead. I’m not certain Kidd does either, mostly building around a guitar and taking us wherever the emotion blows us. Not in a whimsical way though.

The closest we get to a title track is ‘Exit Strategy’, which is the stand-out track on the album built around a rock beat, with haunting vocals and a ramblingly beautiful melody stitched over the top.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkyPXSwHYB0&w=560&h=315]

Mostly on this record we get down-beat confessional tales of woes though. ‘Butterflies’ is built around a ukulele with Kidd singing ‘butterflies, leave me with your lovely lies” and being built around a cheery ukulele should be a bright and breezy sunshine pop number but is as black as midnight on a moonless night given its lyrical content. It’s not all Kidd though, she’s joined by recent touring partner Chris TT on piano for goth-pop number ‘In This Boat’.

A couple of the songs on this record fail to deliver on the drama they are building towards but in all it’s a splendid album, striking a balance between polished pop songstress and a murky goth-rock sound. On ‘Delete’ Kidd goes all a capella on us adding a bit of beatbox in there then dives straight into ‘May Our Daughters Return Home’, a song about female abduction and murder in Mexcio.

All told, this album is splendid. A masterpiece given the background. With no label support, it was made entirely using Pledgemusic. It’s a record where the artistic statement are equally as admirable and given that it’s a break up record it doesn’t stray into petty cliches – it’s an emotionally mature record made by a very accomplished musician. It’s a fine alt-rock record and one that gives us hope. Hope that She Makes War will continue to make music for a long time to come.

Little Battles is out now via Bandcamp for the wonderful price of £3.

 

Links:
http://shemakeswar.com/
http://www.twitter.com/warriorgrrl
http://www.facebook.com/shemakeswar

 

 

Kristmann Op – Hátt fjall | Music Review

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I’d love to be able to tell you a lot about Kristmann Op but I don’t know a lot other than that he/she/they are from Iceland. Having spent a week in Reykjavík last year I can confirm it to be the hippest place on earth and Kristmann Op sound like he/she/they would fit in just fine.

 

<iframe src=”http://player.vimeo.com/video/30726689″ width=”500″ height=”281″ frameborder=”0″ webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe>

 

Their single ‘Hátt fjall’ has earned them a lot of attention and on listening to it, it isn’t hard to tell why – it’s a well crafted piece of electonica. The video features a chap dressed up like an alien and looks like he could be a Matt Lucas-character. What’s not to love?

Alto45 – The Spectrum Sings | Music Review

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Norwich indie boys Alto45 are a band after my own heart. They describe their sound as “trying to make music that bridges the gap between the unassuming beauty of Daniel Johnston and Darren Hayman and the electronic madness of Add N to (X) and Hardfloor“. It’s no wonder they were so feted by the late, great John Peel.

There’s a great home-made feel to this record; not in a crap way but in a way that makes you think of a band bubbling away in their lair, dressed in their trademark lab coats, creating the sounds that they want to create and releasing the sounds they want to release. This is how John Peel (the god of music) intended for it to be created. A wholly democratic process not lead by or reliant upon record labels, radio stations or national, mainstream press.

Alto45 create an electro-lead indie sound but not one reliant or built using laptops and modern technology, no not Alto45. In fairness you worry that such technology hasn’t reached Norfolk yet and it’s done in the belief that this is cutting edge stuff rather than a nostalgia for days when hair was bigger, Liverpool were good at football and the internet didn’t exist.

‘The Spectrum Sings’ was produced by Owen Turner of Magoo, a band who once tried to reshape my head following a review I wrote that wasn’t entirely complimentary. Don’t worry though, I’ve forgotten all about it.

The album jolts to life with ‘The Robot Heart’ which is a nice slice of indie pop, centred around a driving bassline, with James Boyce’s awkward Hefner-esque vocals over the top. It’s a joy. The rest of the record follows a similar pattern of bass, vocals, guitars and synths and creates quite an enjoyable sound. That’s it though, it’s just quite enjoyable. With Darren Hayman’s voice you ignore it because he holds you in with his unlucky-in-love schtick, Boyce doesn’t quite manage that and so after 11 or so songs it starts to grate.

Ultimately the record’s lack of variation leads to a rather unmemorable album. Immediately after hearing it I can barely remember hum a tune. Maybe you like that, I guess it’s better than the mug at work who hums something awful only for it to stick in your head for the next 72 hours. Buy this record, just don’t expect to remember it!

‘The Spectrum Sings’ is out now

 

Something Personal release free single as download | Music News

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Today’s Friday Five tip Something Personal have released a free 3 song EP to download via their website. Click here to have a listen and download the songs. The Welsh band take their inspiration from the likes of Ac/Dc, Nirvana, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones and have been described by John Robb as “Oasis’ish with a psych edge!”

Catch the band on tour throughout the summer.

 

Photo by Marc Griggs

Cann – Into The Night | Music Review

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Former Ou Est le Swimming Pool bassist Caan‘s single ‘Into The Night’ is a delicious slice of downbeat electro. A gem of a single and if Frost operated such a thing then we’d have it as Single of The Week. If you like this song then head to his website where there is a free track waiting for you. Catch him on tour soon, including a show at Dingwalls in Camden on 31st May.

 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9c6Ss4fJVw&w=560&h=315]

Pint Shot Riot – Viva England | Music Review

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“All Together Now” by The Farm is the standard against which all football songs are judged by this writer. Obviously all fail to come anywhere near that stand but ‘Viva England’ by Coventry rockers Pint Shot Riot is a worthy effort. The band have football pedigree too, with their songs being on both the FIFA 2010 and FIFA 2012 computer games.

 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MKthzCn23k&w=560&h=315]

 

The song is released on 28th May is a good attempt at a terrace anthem with it’s “I know I am, I’m sure I am, I’m England ’til I die” refrain. It’s decent enough and one to pop on the car during Euro 2012 (with those rubbish car flags if you’re that way inclined). Would I buy it? Yes, not least of all because it helps two great causes with all the proceeds going to the Homeless FA and the Homeless World Cup Foundation. The Homeless World Cup being the competition that discovered Manchester United’s bizarre signing (a story that hasn’t run it’s full course yet) Bebe. As for the band – one to watch.

‘Viva England’ is released on 28th May

 

 

 

 

Male & British | Friday Five

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Yes, you should be working but you can’t be bothered. This is the bit where Frost will introduce you to five brilliant acts that if you’re not listening to already, then you ought to be. Following on from last week’s Female & British piece, we thought we’d showcase some of the great male-fronted British bands out there.

This week the brief is British and Female.

Alto45 are a great Suffolk-based indie band whose influences probably include The Delgados, The Postal Service and Graham Coxon. Stunning!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sRYouwEq0Q&w=560&h=315]
Tom Williams & The Boat – listen to them loud and enjoy. Indie-folk-rock etc. Thinking man’s music.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAFXlE41b2I&w=560&h=315]
The Sea are a rather stunning rock band, comprised of brothers Peter and Alex Chisolm. A novelty that they’re from Cornwall, too.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4OVTKTZMp8&w=420&h=315]
Something Personal are a bunch of Welsh-based ruffians. They look ugly as sin but don’t let that put you off listening as they make music that is beautiful. Something for the weekend!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ1FM_GRCBo&w=420&h=315]
The Great Park is splendid. It’s the nom de plume of Berlin-based “problem folk” singer Stephen Burch. Check out a lot more of stuff here, including a lot of his work available to download free.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UjoJB2OD7A&w=560&h=315]

New Mission of Burma LP set for July release | Music News

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Seminal Post-punk band Mission of Burma have announced a new album, ‘Unsound’, set for release via Fire Records in July. The record will be the follow up to 2009’s ‘The Sound the Speed the Light’.

After forming in Boston in 1979, disbanding in 1983 and reforming in 2002 for what was meant to be a brief series of shows, the band have inadvertently continued to produce outstanding albums such as 2004’s ‘ONoffON’, 2006’s ‘The Obliterati’ and ‘The Sound the Speed the Light’ in 2009.

 

 

Further details can be found here.