At the beginning of 2015, Philadelphia’s The Soft Spots fused electronica, dream pop and a touch of ukulele twiddling on their debut EP ‘Gently Down The Stream’, resulting in a surprisingly enjoyable listen. Issued a few months later, their follow-up, ‘Life Is But a Dream’ brings more of the same – its five numbers clearly designed to compliment the earlier release.
Tag Archives: indie
UNUSUAL USELESS – And You Shall Use Less
Unusual Useless bill themselves as an “Unusual Chilean Band”, which seems quite fitting, since they’re a band not so easy to pigeonhole and they’re a band who have no clear idea of their own musical identity. That would be cool, if like some, they managed to push boundaries with their art. As it is, on their 2015 release ‘And You Shall Use Less’, they start out as a jangly indie rock outfit, but it’s not long before they give up on that and wheel out the ukuleles and hammer us with twee pop-folk that’s, in the main, so poorly formed you’ll have to wonder who’d want to even listen. Being in a band should be fun, and sometimes it’s clear they’ve got that right, but the twelve tracks that form this LP are by and large a genuine chore to listen to. As such, Unusual Useless all too often come across as an unprofessional mess.
Watch the new video from Get Inuit
UK indie rockers Get Inuit have a new EP ‘Luge Lessons’ out on October 16th. In the meantime, you can check out the videos for the new single ‘Electricity’ and previous single ‘I Am The Hot Air’ below.
MY CRUEL GORO – My Cruel Goro EP
A multi-national trio of joyous noisemaking intents, the oddly named My Cruel Goro bring loud guitars and a boundless energy that’s potentially appealing to those who found themselves glued to the pages of Britain’s NME music rag back in the mid 90s. Perhaps not the guys who fervently followed the Blur vs Oasis spats, or those who patiently awaited news of the next Echobelly tour or were just casually looking to see if editorial policy meant that Morrissey was out of favour that week; more those readers and listeners who looked forward to new releases from Superchunk and were keenly following the progress of Ash’s recording career. Indeed, for those who still get a kick out of Ash’s noisier material – ‘Darkside Lightside’ etc – the three songs which make up this release should bring both a nostalgic charm and a sense of relief that a musical influence that’s some twenty years gone at the time of this release could still sound so vibrant.
HONEY MOON – Honey Moon EP
In terms of retro sounds, things rarely come any more assured and gorgeous than those of London based Honey Moon. On their debut EP, it’s as if the quartet have been sucked through a time tunnel back to 1967, to a time when fashion boutiques like Granny Takes a Trip were all the rage for the wealthy and hip in-crowd, a time when experimental music was still in its infancy, but more importantly, a time when music was becoming rather sophisticated. From there, they’ve learnt a great musical craft, transported it back to the present and layered it with a modern sheen and a few filters. The EP’s four tunes jangle with a lazy, blissed-out sense of cool; each of the players bringing something special to this short musical throwback.