Competition: Free Kytes EP

Now here's the blog's first competition ever.

I recently reviewed Kytes's new EP, and to celebrate the release of the EP next week, the band has decided to give away free downloads to a lucky few. Yesterday @JimHelixLee on Twitter won the first of the free EPs. Now you can be the second.

All you need to do is to post a link to a free download of a song you love, and the best song that I haven't heard before will be the winner. Sound good? You've got until 12.00am tomorrow (March 8th UK time) till the competition closes. You can post the link either on the Facebook page, on Twitter (reply to @mujahidjohar), or at the comments section. Please don't forget to leave your e-mail address.

Now go on and impress me with your musical knowledge!

Signing out

Over and out

Review: Kytes - Ursa Major, The Great Bear

The blog's favourite math punks are at it again. Kytes's debut two-track EP was only a taste of what these boys can do, and with new release 'Ursa Major, The Great Bear,' they completely justified the excitement that I had built up waiting for this overdue follow-up. Originally scheduled to come last October, the delayed March release made me quite concerned that it would not be worth the wait. Boy, was I wrong.

Listen to the EP and read the rest of the review after the JUMP

Exclusive: The Xcerts Acoustic Session

I've got another excellent acoustic session with you on the blog. This time it's with Scottish rockers, The Xcerts. I managed to catch them at the Leeds leg of their Rock Sound Tour with Dinosaur Pile-Up and Japanese Voyeurs. Enjoy the video:

The Xcerts - Carnival Time

I first saw The Xcerts at Southsea Fest 2009, a gig in which their bassist was absent because of some injury I, for the life of me, can't remember. Despite his absence, and despite not having heard The Xcerts before, I came out of that gig a fan of their brand of alt rock.

Since then I've managed to catch them live a couple of times with a complete line-up, and with every performance they seem to be getting better. Possessing anthemic rock sensibilities and melancholic, darkly subtle lyrics, The Xcerts's second album Scatterbrain came out last year to widespread critical acclaim. It also earned a spot on this blog's Top 50 Albums of 2010.

The Xcerts - Scatterbrain

Videos of their live show at The Cockpit later that night after the JUMP.

Exclusive: George Rae (Acoustic Session)

George Rae - Briefly Past

 This session has been sitting in my youtube channel for a while, and I never really intended for it to be an acoustic session for the blog. It was just a video between friends. George is a dear friend of mine, and this video was recorded two years after we last met.

But then I decided the songs and the performances are too beautiful to not spread the word. I don't want to throw so many praises, as I don't want to seem like I'm just hyping up my own friend. I'll just let you decide on this one.

His myspace is HERE.  

Watch another video after the JUMP.

What's On The Stereo: Kidnapper Bell

 
Kidnapper Bell - Falling and Laughing by kidnapperbell

This is my fresh sound of the day. Claiming influences from Minus The Bear, Tellison and Johnny Foreigner, Kidnapper Bell definitely hits all the right notes in my book of right notes (whatever that means).

If this is the first two singles they've released, then we can be justified in expecting bigger things from them. True to their words, the two singles sound like a hybrid between Tellison and Johnny Foreigner. This is indie pop with a dash of post-punk, mixed to perfection.

These two tracks are available on pre-order HERE as a handmade physical to be released on March 7th.

Listen to one more song after the JUMP

Interview: Snævar Njáll Albertsson (Dad Rocks!, Mimas) - Big Scary Monsters, Formidable Moustaches, and Rockin' Old Men

Snævar Njáll Albertsson is the frontman for Mimas, the self-described Death Indie band from Denmark. Boasting post-rock sensibilities yet sprawling across a dizzying variation of genres, their first album 'The Worries' combined bizzare yet brilliant lyrics with  bittersweet musical dreamscapes. The second album 'Lifejackets' strayed away from the post-rock elements into math/pop/rock territory, and again exploring various genres like an indiscriminate kleptomaniac in a record store. It's a record that grins from ear to ear in the way the Cheshire Cat does; quite quirky and adorable but also slightly terrifying. He also goes under the moniker Dad Rocks!, the finger-picking, genre-bending acoustic guitarist who incorporates hip hop, dub, folk, pop and who-knows-what with the help of various accompanying instruments. His debut EP 'Digital Age' is something of a gem littered with witticisms and skilled songcraft.

This is one of the most enjoyable interviews I've done so far. I thank Snævar for kindly agreeing to be interviewed for the blog.
 
Read the interview after the JUMP