I have no doubt that you have indeed heard about the riots in UK that started out in London. In the midst of that, the Sony/PIAS warehouse was burned to the ground, destroying catastrophic amounts of physical records stocked by independent record labels. The full list of record labels affected are available HERE.
Countless people’s livelihoods are affected here, not to mention the prospect of the creation of awesome future music by bands under these labels. Keeping that in mind, please help these fine people cope with this loss by buying digital downloads or any in-stock physical records.
This list is directly inspired by DevilMatt’s own list of 30 Ace Albums You Should Buy From PIAS-Affiliated Labels, which I suggest you check out. Echoing his sentiments, this is not a ‘best-of’ list from a critical point of view. These are simply records that I have enjoyed over the years. You can buy them either directly from the record labels’/bands’ websites, or independent record stores such as Banquet Records and Rough Trade.
Please also follow @_label_love_ on Twitter for details of and how to get involved with a fundraiser for those affected by the PIAS fire.
Hassle Records:
65daysofstatic - We Were Exploding Anyway
Trash Talk - Eyes And Nines
Blakfish - Champions
Tubelord - Our First American Friends
Rolo Tomassi - Hysterics
Rolo Tomassi - Cosmology
Cancer Bats - Birthing The Giant
Alexisonfire - Crisis
Young Turks:
Holy Fuck - Latin
The xx - XX
XL Recordings:
Discovery - LP
Gil Scott-Heron / Jamie XX - We’re New Here
M.I.A. - Kala
The Teenagers - Reality Check
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
4AD Records:
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
Efterklang - Magic Chairs
TV On The Radio - Dear Science
Beirut - The Flying Club Cup
Best Before Records:
Dananananaykroyd - Hey Everyone
Johnny Foreigner - Grace & The Bigger Picture
Johnny Foreigner - Arcs Across The City
Johnny Foreigner - Waited Up Til’ It’s Light
Xtra Mile Recordings:
Crazy Arm - Born To Ruins
Dartz! - This Is My Ship
The Xcerts - Scatterbrain
Rough Trade:
Antony & The Johnsons - Crying Light
Arcade Fire - Funeral
Warpaint - The Fool
CSS -Cansei de Ser Sexy (Sub Pop)
Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping (Polyvinyl)
Youthmovies - Good Nature (Drowned In Sound)
Forward Russia - Give Me A Wall (Dance To The Radio)
Enter Shikari - Take To The Skies (Ambush Reality)
The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic (Matador Records)
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Free Download: B>E>A>K - The Red Edition
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B>E>A>K is a strange one. Alter-egos of the Sunderland-based Coal Train (including an ever-expanding 'nest' of other musicians), the band has gained a reputation for the their theatrical, visually arty shows with their members wearing masks that resemble a familiar group of irreconciably angry avian characters. To add to this somewhat bonkers experiment, the band members have gone under monikers such as The Blue Tit, The Red Rooster and The Green Gannett and do their interviews talking in subtitled chirps.
But hey, this is a music blog. It's the music that really matters. So it fills me with great pleasure to impart to you that B>E>A>K has not ignored their musical sensibilities for artistic mad-hattery. The Red Edition is the first part of a series called The Life Of Birds, and if this is a sign of things to come, I can only wait in feverish excitement as they prepare for their next release The Yellow Edition.
It's easy to dismiss this as a gimmick, but then think of all the fun you'll be missing. Far from being pretentious, B>E>A>K> instead feels like a liberation from the idea of 'what's 'cool' and what's 'silly'. Abandon all your prejudices and let yourself loose. B>E>A>K> have, and they're all the better for it.
Official Website / Bandcamp / Facebook / Twitter
Here's the teaser video done for The Red Edition.
But hey, this is a music blog. It's the music that really matters. So it fills me with great pleasure to impart to you that B>E>A>K has not ignored their musical sensibilities for artistic mad-hattery. The Red Edition is the first part of a series called The Life Of Birds, and if this is a sign of things to come, I can only wait in feverish excitement as they prepare for their next release The Yellow Edition.
It's easy to dismiss this as a gimmick, but then think of all the fun you'll be missing. Far from being pretentious, B>E>A>K> instead feels like a liberation from the idea of 'what's 'cool' and what's 'silly'. Abandon all your prejudices and let yourself loose. B>E>A>K> have, and they're all the better for it.
Official Website / Bandcamp / Facebook / Twitter
Here's the teaser video done for The Red Edition.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Free Download: Enemies - We've Been Talking
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If there's such a thing as Tropical Math then Enemies's We've Been Talking definitely fits that bill. Upbeat with a fair amount of technical playfulness, you won't find many better debuts this year.
Think Brontide on their summer vacation at a pool party in the Carribean and you've got Enemies. Consistent but not repetitive, technical and fun... Enemies's debut album are those things, and more. This becomes all the more incredible as they've recently just decided to make this album available to download for free (on Bandcamp) until Tuesday evening (2nd August 2011) to celebrate getting 2,000 'likes' on their Facebook page.
Will they follow in the footsteps of their Irish brethrens The Cast Of Cheers, who released their debut album for free and has gone on to much bigger things (for example, supporting Two Door Cinema Club at Brixton Academy)? I don't know for it sure, but they don't, it will be a massive shame.
Review: Conquistadors - On Tape EP
Conquistadors (or Conks as they are affectionately known) – their third EP ‘On Tape’ is a pigeonhole-dodging, incredibly versatile record that aims to play with your expectations of genre conventions. The most specific term I can think of without being too narrow is melodic post-punk, but even that label falls short in describing Conquistadors sound in ‘On Tape’.
The intro track is pretty much just a preview of songs so we’ll start with the second track ‘Black Swan’. In the songs first half it seems like we are treated to a brilliant mix of math pop and melodic punk, but then in the second half it excellently charges head first into Blakfish territory. ‘Homework’, with its pop melodies and wonderful harmonies, typify Conquistadors fearless, genre-surfing philosophy.
Read the rest of this review and links to buy it on Musical Mathematics.This review also appears on zine issue #2, which you can buy HERE.
The intro track is pretty much just a preview of songs so we’ll start with the second track ‘Black Swan’. In the songs first half it seems like we are treated to a brilliant mix of math pop and melodic punk, but then in the second half it excellently charges head first into Blakfish territory. ‘Homework’, with its pop melodies and wonderful harmonies, typify Conquistadors fearless, genre-surfing philosophy.
Read the rest of this review and links to buy it on Musical Mathematics.This review also appears on zine issue #2, which you can buy HERE.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Musical Mathematics: Review // EDiLS Recordings - Bear Left
My review of EDiLS Recordings's free compilation, Bear Left, is up now on Musical Mathematics.
The DIY Liverpool label, EDiLS Recordings, has come out with its second free compilation titled Bear Left. The diverse collection consists of 12 bands from 4 countries (England, USA, Finland, Sweden), many of whom go under the label post-rock.
The End Of The Ocean’s (Ohio, USA) ‘Maybe For The Better’ combines the apocalyptic gravity of Talons with the startling fierceness of …And So I Watch You From Afar, providing a deeply satisfying vista of events that’s both optimistic and mournful. Cool World’s ‘Only Fooling’ is a toe-tapping indie pop tune from Wisconsin, USA, which will be your summertime indie-pop anthem of choice, even if the weather’s shit and you’re forced to stay in all week.
Third track ‘Dime & Suture’ from Gifts From Enola is riff-heavy post-rock imported from Virginia, USA, with faint but audible, muffled screams providing an eerie, pained undertone that takes it up a notch above many of their more straight-forward brethrens. Liverpudlian alt country duo, Go Heeled, fuses the quirkier side of pop and the dancier side of indie to come up with this gem of a song titled ‘Hugs & Misses.’
To read the rest of the review and download the whole compilation, go to Musical Mathematics.
The End Of The Ocean’s (Ohio, USA) ‘Maybe For The Better’ combines the apocalyptic gravity of Talons with the startling fierceness of …And So I Watch You From Afar, providing a deeply satisfying vista of events that’s both optimistic and mournful. Cool World’s ‘Only Fooling’ is a toe-tapping indie pop tune from Wisconsin, USA, which will be your summertime indie-pop anthem of choice, even if the weather’s shit and you’re forced to stay in all week.
Third track ‘Dime & Suture’ from Gifts From Enola is riff-heavy post-rock imported from Virginia, USA, with faint but audible, muffled screams providing an eerie, pained undertone that takes it up a notch above many of their more straight-forward brethrens. Liverpudlian alt country duo, Go Heeled, fuses the quirkier side of pop and the dancier side of indie to come up with this gem of a song titled ‘Hugs & Misses.’
To read the rest of the review and download the whole compilation, go to Musical Mathematics.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Free Download: Musical Mathematics - Second Time Lucky
Musical Mathematics has released their second compilation today and it is available to download for free. You can check out the description of each song to see if they're what you fancy and listen to individual songs by clicking on their titles. You can also download the whole digital compilation and get the bonus track 'Shed' by Title Fight from the Bandcamp.
Tracklisting:
Richter Collective, IRL. Math rock/Post-rock/Tropical.
Upbeat Math-y instrumentals perfectly paced to tug your heartstrings from the Irish four-piece outfit
Topshelf Records, Boston USA. Pop/Rock, Power/Indie.
Fast paced powerfully addictive summer jams from a brilliant two-man music team.
Godmonkey Recording, UK. Alternative/Progressive.
Four friends from Birmingham making music without boundaries. Eclectic tastes and an unstructured style make for high-energy filled catchy songs.
Topshelf Records/Doghouse Records, US. Pop Punk/Punk/Post Hardcore.
Chicago based rockers Grown Ups create a unique blend of Melodic Punk with passion and precision with a fierce Post-Hardcore edge.
Big Scary Monsters/Function, UK. Post-Hardcore/Rock.
Big guitars with intricate drums and a vocal line that’s far from priest like. http://www.prayforhymns.tumblr.com/
Clickpop Records/Topshelf Records, USA. Math Rock/Math Pop.
Intricate math pop with a triple guitar attack and sparse vocals from an ever- evolving Washingtonian four-piece
hiphiphip, FR. Rock/Indie/Punk.
MM favorites Heliport finally released their long awaited album this year and have a lot in store for the rest of 2011.
Unsigned. Melodic/Punk-rock/Pop-punk.
France’s relatively unheard of Sport should be playing the warp tour, fun yet powerful punk-rock.
Head Records, FR. Math-rock/Noise-rock/Experimental.
Having made quite a name for themselves through extensive touring Choux Crane is just one example of the sheer brutality this manic duo can produce.
Big Scary Monsters (UK) Zankyo Records (Japan), UK.
Loud Bursts of Alt-Punk. Three long term friends delivering the music they love to you!! http://weareshapes.tumblr.com/
Unsigned, UK. Fuzz/Alternative/Rock.
This Brand new duo from the midlands smash distorted bass together with giant drum beats. BassVsDrums scenario.
OnDryLand, UK. Experimental/Math Rock/Post Hardcore.
Emerging from the flames that was once Blakfish to deliver a sound that will blow your mind. http://andyouandi.net/
Household Name Records UK, Kind Of Like Records US. Acoustic/Punk/Sing-along.
Great Cynics and their fans sing about partying, sleeping on sofas and drinking beer with their friends.
Topshelf Records/Fliff City Hit Squad, US. Midwest Emo/Punk/Indie.
Fun, light and modest punk rock from the heart of the USA, full of outstanding sing-a-long moments.
Big Scary Monsters, South East, UK. Indie/Math Pop.
A band that started as studio based project and blossomed into something truly extraordinary.
Unsigned, UK. Math-Pop/Soft Rock.
Stylish, smooth and subtle technical pop, full of sweet licks and harmonious tones. www.facebook.com/ngodband
Centurion Records, UK/hiphiphip, FR. Math-Pop.
Ex-Haemostatic Picnic Racers hailing from Kent produce catchy pop-punk with a lovely helping of intricate tapping. www.pharaohstheband.com
Alcopop Records/This Is Fake DIY Records, UK. Rock/Indie Pop/Noise.
Anthemic skateboard indie pop with a flawless mix of humour, brains and a knack for well-placed woo-hoo’s http://www.stagecoachuk.com/
PonyRec, DK / Paper Garden Records USA. Post-Rock/Folk/Indie
Soaring mix of folk and post-rock and a potent combination of Americana and Scandinavia sentiments and sensibilities
Holy Roar/Blood & Biscuits, UK. Experimental/Electronica/Rock.
England’s answer to Battles - dark, synth-driven dance movements powered by incredibly tight and precise drumming.
21. Title Fight - Shed (Only available when you download the whole digital compilation)
SideOneDummy Records, USA. Punk Rock.
Fresh out of Kingston, Philadelphia Title Fight play youthful yet passionate stage diving punk rock.
via Musical Mathematics
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