It’s summer and Coventry is hotter than the face of the sun, so the Photographer and I head to the pub with a new playlist of stuff bought, found and sent to us for another progressivly more drunken critical analysis. We do it so you don’t have to. Having said that, there’s more than the average number of excellent records this time around. Have a read, listen and then start an argument with us…
Velocity Girl – I Know Exactly What You Mean
A great scrappy indie, punky, pop groove. Lovely harmonies and a great tune. The Photographer says it’s got nice bright guitars and vocals. It gets in there and doesnt mess around, I quite like it its great
Perennial – Modernism
This one has a punky shouty vocal over a great rough Rhythm and Blues pub rock stomp, another great track. The Photographer says I like the nice shouty vocal and good driving mad drums.
Sophie Sirota – 50:50 Pure Trancernism- The Endless Carousel of Lust and Suffering Dub (Youth Remix)
This starts with Gentle synths then falling bass and violins, relaxing drift away drug drenched groove, intricate and cool and it doesn’t feel like it’s nine minutes long. The Photographer says it is way too long, way too meandering and has no direction whatsoever, just dreary.
Wrong Man, Jeremy Bolm – Exit Strategy
I think this is a decent punk song with a great vocal. The Photographer says it has great strained vocals and is a nice little punk rock record.
Son Lux – Want You To Love
An intricate sleazy, sweaty song with a lazy sexy despairing vocal, another good track. The Photographer says that it bored me to death, I actually fell asleep, didn’t see much in it, I was woken up by the next track.
Chat Pile – PEN I S MALL
This is Chat Pile doing what Chat Pile do, if you like them you’ll love this, hard angry and full smash your face in mode. For the record, I like them. The coughing is odd and the whole thing goes on a bit too long. The Photographer says that it’s a smash your face in cacophony of noise with angry vocals, and shrugs.
TVOD – Wet Brain
This one’s for the kids, a huge indie disco banger, great hook, great chorus and bouncy as fuck. The Photographer says the kids are going to love it.
Holy Wave – I’m DADA
This is synth and guitar based weird pop music, decent enough, nice and gentle. The Photographer says it takes forever to get going and it never kicks off, it’s all a bit arty mate…the only time it kicks in is at the end and you’ve forgotten about it by then.
Futumche – The History Of Music
There we go, who needs drugs when you have Futumche? I mean how do you review a nine minute release by the single most exciting band in Coventry, with more ideas, switches and weirdness than whole albums by any other band… brilliant. The Photographer says it’s an absolute assault on the head – the drums are insane, the mash of guitars, synths and noise is intense, it’s just blatantly single of the week and it’s not just because we know them, it is truly mental.
Sugar – Keep Looping
Bob’s second three piece is definitely back and running forwards, a great punk pop song from the master of the genre. Love Bob. It just sounds like he’s enjoying himself. The Photographer says it’s as good as anything he’s done in the last ten to fifteen years, it’s not Bob Mould, it’s a band and it’s as close as you’re going to get to Husker Du as is possible… and it doesn’t disappoint.
Boneripper – Deeds Define
I put this on for the Photographer, he loves a bit of metal punk crossover, you can feel the spit hitting the microphone as the singer rants over the hard music, it’s decent.The Photographer says I don’t usually like this double beat screaming metal stuff but this stands out and its alright, there isnt too much double beat and it changes around, I like it.
The Meffs – Where Did It All Go Wrong?
This is new punk, and a pretty damn good song. The Photographer says its a bit averagy punk rocky shouty, Suzie would love it.
Pol – Sex Machines
An electronic pop song, nice pumping synths and a quirky feel but I’ve heard it all before and it’s too long. The Photographer says it’s an eighties throwback track, like trying to be early Depeche Mode synth rock and it’s just a bit poor.
Cor de Lux – The Cringe
A fuzzy vocal and grinding forwards groove, then laid back drums and wide open spaced guitar then synth punk with a female vocal – fractured and not my favourite this week. The Photographer says I didn’t think much of this, have we got a direction, no we don’t, it doesn’t flow, its just not good enough after Futumche.
Dez Dare – You Woke Up On My Side of Time
Dez does slow, emotional and ever so slightly wobbly. Short and sweet. The Photographer says I don’t know, its different to everything previously, but dont know if thats a good or bad thing.
HAAi, Pat Alvarez – DIGITISE
I think that this one starts off well and then turns into glitchy euro dance. The Photographer says what is going on? sounds like some sort of AI slop, pushing the sample button but nothing behind it, awful record.
Cult of Luna – In the Shadow of Your Shadow
It’s got massive guitars, stoner doom, but for me it’s let down but the grunty growly vocal. The Photographer says Doomy and gloomy, nice rich guitars in there.
Wasuremono – Welcome Back
It is Indie pop, all about the singer’s slightly posh voice, harmonies and quirky music. Not that good to be honest. The Photographer just says.. is this the worst record I’ve heard this week?
PJ Harvey – Voyager
She still sounds like she’s far far away from anything. Gentle and held together by the force of her will. Brilliant. The Photographer says I get the concept, I’m not that thick, and as a concept track its okay, its not going to fill the dancefloor.
Desire – Summer Skin
A sunshine drenched synth pop song, great track. The Photographer says it’s a fairly ordinary euro pop as found in many European seaside bars and pubs.
DRIFT. – Rough Rider
A synth led fast darkwave song, I like the vocals, The Photographer says that it starts off like Suicide or Magazine then drifts on a bit, gets better, then tails off, its interesting.
Concrete Vehicles – Cut Ties
This one has stop start angular guitars, swirling synths, it’s hard psych, noisy and switches around. The vocals get more desperate as it goes on. It’s great. The Photographer says I quite like this one, the vocals aren’t too screamy but they are strained enough to show some anger and I quite like the all of the noise in the background too that goes up and down, sounded a little bit like Protomartyr.
Gnod – The Witness
It’s not loud enough. But if it was, it would be another ace Gnod groove that just goes on forever. The Photographer says he didn’t get it, it’s not all out warfare assault of the head, I quite like that and this isn’t it.
Imperial Teen – Overdrive
A whiney guitary Indie track and it’s not very interesting. The Photographer says its a poppy indie with an average back line that isn’t massively interesting.
Helen – Dead Shark II
An average shoegaze track. The Photographer says average shoegaze indeed.
Gatta Morta – Black Hall
A couple of Melvins, a Butthole Surfer and a nother degenerate form a band and release an ace heavy as fuck loose grooved single. The Photographer says I really like it and that’s without knowing who is in it, Melvins and chaos, doomy dark and interesting.
The Black Wizards – Wishing Well
A Janis Joplinesque groove and vocal, it’s okay. The Photographer says its that East Coast San Fran sound and its got nothing that stands out.
Smirk – Going Off To Die
This has a great rough vocal and an ace punk groove. The Photographer says I quite enjoyed this track, yeah, bumbled along quite nicely.
Judiciary – Wall of Skulls
A Hard Core Punk fast battering,nasty track with a suitably livid vocal, what’s not to like? The Photographer says that I normally don’t like these ones.. but this is great! It battered my head and it genuinely sounded like he had a sore throat at the end of it, smash yer face in!
Afghan Whigs – My Lover
How is it that some bands never capture the swagger and groove of their early releases but others, the Whigs for one, keep on going with their blend of alt rock, groove and heartfelt vocals sounding as good if not better with age. Brilliant. The Photographer says it sounds like the Afghan Whigs. Just takes me back, if you like the Afghan Whigs you’ll love it.. goes nicely with the Captain Bob track.
Protomartyr – Sounds We Cannot Hear
I only got these when I saw them live, now it all sounds like warped genius, a great song. The Photographer says when the vocal comes in it’s just a winner all the way, his voice is so good and distinctive, it takes a little bit to get going and then it’s brilliant and when the vocal kicks in it’s so good, yeah it’s great.
Chris Liebing, Luke Slater – Double Split Terence Fixmer Remix
Now that’s what I call techno. Thundering groove, repetitive beats and a sense of massive areas of space being travelled in the blink of an eye. The Photographer says superstar djs!
JK Flesh – Fear of Fear Dub
Not a single but massive slabs of industrial burning factories and clouds of smoke, brutal. The Photographer says it’s a bone smashing industrial dub track with the most enormous bassline, good luck if you’re listening with headphones.
2So there are a fair few this time that were contendors for Single of the week, Sugar showing what Bob is still capable of in a group, Protomartyr just for the sheer genius of it all and Perrenial just because it’s ace. But in the end there’s opnly one and it goes to the lunatic stylings of the utterly untouchable Futumche!
Have a read and a listen and tell us what you liked and didn’t.
The whole playlist is here
All words by Martin Ward and Adrian Bloxham
All Beer by the Twisted Barrel Taphouse
