Photo: Press / Weaves
Another dose of great new music for Friday. This week we have a brilliant Motorhead cover of 'Heroes' by Bowie that never surfaced. A track from one of Liverpool's very best songwriters, the young, up-and-coming Marvin Powell, who has been working with James Skelly.
Then there's the epic Nottingham band Eyre Llew who are one of the most promising underground bands in the country that will definitely be playing big shows in the coming months. Fink is also back with the lead single form a new album. Happy digital digging.
Liars – 'Coins in my caged fists'
What a bizarre band Liars are. They’re not even a band anymore, technically, given that it’s just Angus Andrew who makes up their current incarnation, having parted ways with Aaron Hemphill. Liars have become notorious for dramatic shifts in tone, and the two tracks that appeared this week the spaced out, acoustic The Grand Delusional and the frantic Coins In My Caged Fists, showcase two very different sides to forthcoming album TFCF. Coins… is the superior of the two, a rabid, jarring concoction of twisted vocals and frenetic beats, a track that’s wonky, relentless, and completely superb. (PC)
Motörhead - 'Heroes' (David Bowie cover)
Motörhead playing David Bowie, need I say more? Both Lemmy and the Thin White Duke were among the most dearly departed of the slew of musical departures that hit the tail end of 2015 and the following twelve months, yet this cover, part of a forthcoming compilation called Under Cöver, is more than just a heart-warming novelty version. Motörhead’s version of the Bowie classic, unreleased until now, has genuine drive and impetus, the band’s brutal, barebones guitars strangely suited to the gorgeous rushes of the original, Lemmy’s vocals demonstrating their oft-overlooked ability to imbue a certain kind of whiskey-soaked tenderness. (PC)
Marvin Powell - 'Wind Before The Train'
James Skelly wrote on Twitter about the difficulty of a song sounding so effortless and praised Powell - a fellow Liverpudlian signed to his Skeleton Key label - for managing it in spades. We couldn't agree with Skelly more - this is sweet 60s influenced psych pop at its best and a captivating listen from start to finish that demands to be listened to again as soon as its over. The track is taken from a four track EP has only had a couple thousand spins so far but if he keeps churning out tunes of this quality it won't be long before Powell makes the jump from being one of the coolest songwriters in Liverpool to international acclaim. (CT)
Weaves - #53
At first listen to Weaves’ new single, #53, the first taste of their forthcoming sophomore LP Wide Open, you’d be forgiven for thinking the group had lost their erratic brilliance. This is a more refined sound from the Canadians, but no less exciting – their lopsided blasts of left-field texture are still laced all over the new track, but woven into a bright, blast of anthemic, direct indie rock. It felt right to try to represent my own experience in the world while knowing that everyone in my age group is poor or having a tough time with life in one way or another,” says frontwoman Jasmyn Burke. “So I was thinking about how to blow those feelings up into these kinds of songs. Blowing up a regular life into something like an anthem. In a way I was thinking about it like Bruce Springsteen, but in a lot of ways my experience of the world couldn’t be less like Bruce Springsteen’s." (PC)
Circuit Des Yeix - 'Paper Bag'
Circuit Des Yeux and Drag City, could there be a better match of artist and label? Hayley Fohr’s return to the Circuit Des Yeux Moniker after a stint as Jackie Lynn, and first album for the cult Chicago label, Reaching For Indigo, is being previewed with a stellar new single, Paper Bag, a slick, woozy cut of looping acoustics and hammering keys that slips into a blissful groove, before Fohr’s inimitable, soaring vocals join the fray. With Fohr producing songs this strong, and with Drag City behind her, Reaching For Indigo should be something truly stellar. (pC)
Fink - 'Cracks Appear'
Fink is one of the most pro-active musicians around at the minute. Less than a year ago he had just put out his version of a classic blues album to rave reviews. Back in his studio in Berlin he's been at it again, this time taking on a more indie rock/pop sound with hints of soul. Never conventional, his use of sparse, dramatic percussive builds, eerie use of multi effects, and tasty vocal reverb all come together brilliantly. The diverse soundscape pulling in ideas from across the spectrum of popular and experimental music make something far more ambitious than the words indie and pop can ever suggest. This beguiling new track features on the album Resurgam - meaning "I shall rise again" - which is out and on the label R'Coup'D on 15 Setepmber. (CT)
Eyre Llew - 'Havoc'
Eyre Llew are on the cusp of something special. Their ability to mix the power of post-rock, the melody of pop with experimental flourishes makes them something to not only cherish but shout to the rafters about. New single ‘Havoc’ is a glorious piece of music that slowly builds, and swells before its luxurious outro gently fades into the ether. And this is where Eyre Llew’s music comes from. That place where misty shapes float around, and through you, a place where grandiose rock clichés don’t exist and everything has a cinematic quality to it. Isn’t that a place you’d like to live too? Their debut album 'Atelo' is released 19 October. (NR)
Actress x London Contemporary Orchestra - 'Audio Track 5'
What do you get if you mix minimal electro and classical orchestration? The new Actress album. Darren Cunningham has teamed up with the London Contemporary Orchestra to craft an album that is as intricate as it is abstract. Originally these musical powerhouses crossed paths last year at the Barbican thanks to the Boiler Room. Now they’ve reconvened to create the 'classical stuff for a modern generation' that Cunningham has always hinted at. This is Chamber Techno at its most abrasive and abstract. (NR)
D▲RK C▲ULDRON-‡
After listening to D▲RK C▲ULDRON’s '‡' it’s hard to gauge who, or what D▲RK C▲ULDRON actually is. It could be someone in a darkened bedroom cranking out broody electro for kicks. Or could it be a musical student who has made an algorithm to try and trick music journalists to wax lyrical about electronic music that is made by a computer. Or perhaps is it a musical savant who has fluked a song this good. Either way it doesn’t matter as '‡' is six minutes of fuzzy basslines, wonky melodies, hard trap beats and a general feeling of malice and unease that would make John Carpenter blush. Just remember you heard it here first. (NR)
