You Cookie Cutter Bastards

Noise music is a special breed; it takes the ‘negative’ characteristics associated with traditional music and uses them as a positive function within its sonic assault. Dissonant resonance and often a-tonal, distorted vocals bleed static upon the plague soundscapes that are often appealing, always intense and rarely boring...well, the last part isn’t entirely true.

Noise music these days has unfortunately begun to sound stagnant. Cookie cutter artists bastardise the work of Justin Pearson, Jason Broadrick, William Bennett, Stephen O’Malley and Thurston Moore. It is rare to find a genuinely exciting bunch of lads and ladies that not only pay homage to what came before them, but have the talent to carve out their own identity as well. American noise bands continue to thrive with labels like Ipecac, Relapse, Southern Lord and Three One G whilst the British scene remains consistently unnurtured and unappreciated. Apart from the much adorned Bristonian duo, Fuck Buttons and the painfully inconsistent Sheffield brats, Rolo Tomassi, there is very little support for Britain’s noise artists.

Divorce is one such band, only magazines like Rock a Rolla and Plan B have taken notice of this destructive, Glaswegian five piece. Divorce have a cracked, piercing musical style comparable to bands like Aids Wolf, Bellini and All Leather. The aggression which dominates their sound is both intense and seductive. Like the 2nd wave punk of the late seventies/early eighties, their songs are brutally succinct and admirably uncompromising. I had the pleasure of witnessing a Divorce show earlier this year and thankfully, they delivered the goods with expert proficiency. Even along side the hipster brilliance of Health they appeared quietly confident, astoundingly triumphant in their overall product.

With British talent like this it’s quite disheartening to experience the general apathy that the alternative scene feels towards such music. Granted, this is a very specific musical spectrum, it would be quite belligerent of me to expect the great British public to flock to noise shows in their droves, but still, it would be nice to see a bit more support for such experimentation. If these artists were given the time and support to create these blistering, audio assaults then maybe we would have a few more interesting groups on our hands instead of the paint by numbers electro/indie garbage that seems so prominent in our current pop climate.

Divorce are playing several dates in England throughout the month of October.

Yours faithfully,
Ben Harding. Peace x

P.S. If you haven’t already then check out Tawny Owl & the Birds of Prey in their first video for the brilliant song, Ghost Writer

Putting Norwich in to Context

Norwich, it is fair to say, has a burgeoning music scene; it featured prominently in a recent NME poll (#15) and has become something of a buzz city. Yet not all music fans are aware that, away, or even alongside, the guitar-based bands that are doing so well, Norwich has a thriving Dub scene with some acts and producers that rival any in the country. Arguably the finest of these is Context MC.

Familiar to those who frequent the nights put on by our friends at Get Low, Context has been making a name for himself nationally, with his recent single 'As The Sun Goes Down' receiving considerable airplay on both Radio One and One Extra, and he is a favourite of new music maestro Huw Stephens.

Context's new EP 'Mental Breakdown Music' comes out on 21st September and is set to cement his place in the UK urban scene. Combining true garage delivery over a dubstep beat, Context shows incredible lyrical dexterity on the EP whilst also showing that his knack of penning a catchy hook with his previous single wasn't a one off; almost every song on the EP could stand up as a single, particularly 'Is It (Rat Attack Mix)' and 'Headbut Your Trainers'.


Context has a UK tour coming up to promote the EP, including some Norwich dates with the likes of Andy C, so try and catch him live if you can.

[mp3] Context MC - Is it (Rat Attack Mix)

[mp3] Context MC - As the Sun Goes Down (Remix)

The EP is availabe online at Amazon or itunes

- Lewis Milkbar

A different variety of Jackson

Justice-esq-electro was fleeting and weak at times. But there are ruminants from that time that are worth saving for listening forward and beyond those darker days.

Jackson and His Computer Band may hark from that period, and may even be affiliated with such trend setters, but his music takes on a far higher form of IDM and physical electronic fusion. He said himself in a rare interview back in 2007 that he aims to make physical collages, and that the use of software shouldn't just result in presets and mindless repetism.

The result is a concoction of classical and modern film soundtracks with the heavy beats and machine like shifting that can be created with 21st century music technology. It took Jackson 5 years to finish his album Smash released back in 2007, and its easy to see why, with every phrase edited and reshuffled in one way or another to create something less musical and more a natural cataclysm of noise.

[mp3] Jackson and His Computer Band - Teen Beat Ocean

Acquiesce to the sound, its not dance music, i can't imagine dancing to it, just getting a serious headphone buzz. A heady feeling all round with no intoxication to think of.

Space Metaliser
[www.myspace.com/mynameisqu]
x

A-D-U-L-T-E-R-Y

Newcastle's literate popsters Little Comets continued their first ever headline UK tour as they took on the Norwich Arts Centre on wednesday. The four-piece have been rather quiet since their hype-conquering debut single "One Night in October" dropped in February, but worry not, for all is well in the LC camp. The boys have been hard at work recording their debut album which is set to arrive on October 9th.

Despite signing to industry daddies Columbia, Little Comets have maintained a sense of autonomy working on their record. The uni graduates were allowed to continue their unusual recording processes - recording in public places/recording the sounds of kitchen appliances(?) - and have even done their own thing with the artwork.

But for their first headline tour and the tour that will mark the precursor to their album release, you'd be forgiven for expecting a little more from Little Comets. A little rough around the edges to start, the newcastle boys did eventually hit their stride with "Friday Don't need it" and "One Night in October"back-to-back, but before you even knew it, the show was all over. Just under 30 minutes and not even an encore. I'm just hoping there's enough quality to fill an album, because there wasn't enough evidence to suggest it live.

[mp3] Little Comets - One Night in October

[mp3] Little Comets - Figures

-Johnboy

The Letter of the day is: ‘V’

My newest girl-crush are US trio Vivian Girls, whose self-titled 2008 debut album blends shoegaze, surf punk, lo-fi guitar fuzziness and vocal harmonies that The Go Gos would be proud of. You may have seen them on their recent UK tour with British band Male Bonding (and if you have, let it be known that I am extremely jealous).


The album has a definite Wall of Sound feel to it, partly accomplished by the inclusion of Tim Fiore on tambourine* for most of the record, but also through the detached iciness of the vocals. “We know what no one else knows,” sing the trio in unison on ‘Tell the World’, and you get the impression that they genuinely do. Other stand-out moments are the chaotic and caffeinated ‘No’ and ‘All the Time’ and the post-breakup gloominess of ‘Never See Me Again’.


Vivian Girls’ second album, ‘Everything Goes Wrong’ is out September 9th. You can listen to a couple of its tracks on their myspace and hear for yourself why I’m kicking up a fuss.


Speaking of kicking up a fuss, I’m also rather excited about the forthcoming second album from Norwich-based Violet Violet, ‘The city is full of beasts’. The band (previously a three-piece) recently re-launched as a two-piece in manner of Simon and Garfunkel or Sonny and Cher, only if either of these had been a powerhouse of riot grrrl-angst. Be sure to catch them at the Norwich Arts Centre on October 17 th when they support TinMan, especially if you like your music intelligent, spiky, angry and fun (and somehow all at the same time!).


There has been a lot of suggestion from media types (especially since the Mercury Prize nominees were announced) that 2009 is ‘the year of the Female Artist’. And it does look like they kind of have a point.


(*I’m well aware, of course, that there was more to Spector and his legendary Wall than tambourines. But damn if they’re not a significant feature of pretty much every song from that genre.)


- Kate

Check out these:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_fcs3ZlD7Y&feature=related (Tell the World)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgk-uzPFuzo&feature=related (All The Time)

You're in China, man

In an age of identikit indie-bands and desperate 80s pop re-hashes (Little Boots et al,) it is always refreshing to discover something that feels authentic. Hull based four piece The Neat first came to my attention two years ago, when a friend at uni who knew them recommended I went to see their set at Leeds Festival. Duly impressed, I have followed their career ever since.

The band deliver rumbling bass lines and sardonic, literate lyrics in the vein of Mark E. Smith. Sharp riffs spike through their post-punk snarl and the energy the band creates transmits effortlessly in their lo-fi recordings. The band are clearly indebted to the more articulate, intelligent post-punk bands and recall the likes of The Fall, Gang of Four and(early) Joy Division. But they are far more than a rip-off band. The Neat create a sound that is refreshing and deliver it in a way that means something; they are also comfortably one of the best live bands I've seen in the last year.

Currently one of the hottest properties in music (how they haven't been snapped up is a mystery, but there is a harem of labels chasing them at present) the band recently recorded a live session on Radio One for Steve Lamacq, which the MP3 below was taken from, and have built up quite a following around the capital. They are also playing at Reading and Leeds Festivals this summer on the BBC Introducing stage.

The band have visited Norwich twice; to play a Milkbar night last October and to headline a gig at the Arts Centre for us in April. They're due to return this Autumn to play another Milkbar clubnight. Be sure to catch them live if you can.

[mp3] The Neat - Fruits

http://www.myspace.com/uptheneat

Lewis Milkbar

Something old, something borrowed, something new..

A week or two ago I was lucky enough to come into some interesting vinyl from my uncle's more hectic Hacienda djing days, which have now been replaced by a quiet life somewhere on the outskirts of leeds.

Although i struggled with the early rave cuts and some of his 'soulful' house records, he did give me some interesting, and rather hard to come by, records from around the early seventies, right up to some late 80's hip-hop classics.

Despite not being ready to give up some of this imparted inspiration of my uncle's earlier years, I thought I'd share one or two interesting tracks, I certainly wasn't aware of such tracks existence, but they are really rather good.

[mp3] De La Soul - Piles and Piles of Demo Tapes Bi-Da Miles

The b3-side to Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey) , this track takes the originals sample loop and lets a mystery master go crazy in a 5 minutes jazz flute extravaganza, its rather special.

[mp3] Aretha Franklin - Who's Zoomin Who?

After much debate, me and a friend could not quite came to a conclusion over the origins of the word 'zommin', or what it might mean.. (i have my suspicions). Nevertheless, this track has got all the makings of an 80's classic, Fresh Prince esq synthesized basslines, 808 drums, and Aretha's irresistible diva vocals.

Phew, thats enough of lesser-known classics, heres to the somewhat escapades nouveau of Wavves. Nathan Williams of San Diego, California has been showing me the lighter side of garage rock for nearly a year now, and I've recently come across a new track that holds par with his original stand-out efforts, '*No Hope Kids*' and 'Wavves'. Trust me this new one is saweeeet.

[mp3] Wavves - Cool Jumper

Peace out, Space Metaliser [www.myspace.com/mynameisqu] x

p.s. I also despise U2, Ipod ads anyone?!