Wednesday 30 April 2014

The Great Escape 2014 - Northern Irish Contingent

The Great Escape is an annual new music festival based in Brighton. From 8th-10th May, over 400 bands and artists from all over the world will be playing in over 30 venues to the thousands of people who will be descending on the seaside city. 

The Great Escape is a festival that I have been following for many years, and I am absolutely delighted that for the first time, I will be crossing the Irish Sea to attend the festival. After all, it's not often that you get the opportunity to literally drown in sound. 

With so many new and emerging artists due to play, it will be a struggle deciding exactly who to go and see. With this in mind, and keeping in mind one of this blog's musical loves, I have put together this quick guide to every single artist from Northern Ireland (or with an NI connection) who will be performing at the festival this year. Many of them will be playing at more than once, so if you're interested in hearing as many of the most exciting emerging artists from here, then you have no excuse not to take them all in.

Or you could ignore this entire post and go to see Wild Beasts & Kaiser Chiefs instead. The choice is up to you, which is why TGE is so wonderful.

A Plastic Rose

Venue - (a) Blind Tiger

(b) Festival Hub Stage (Spiegelpub)

Date/Time - (a) Thursday 8th May - 11:00pm
(b) Friday 9th May - 5:30pm

Why do I care?
Since relocating from NI to Nottingham, the alt-rock band have gone from strength to strength with singles such as "This Side Of Winter" and "Someone's Daughter", both of which have enjoyed extensive play on Radio 1. With album #2 a few months away, it's the perfect time to see the band before they become ubiquitous.





Ballet School 

Venue - (a) Brighton Coalition

(b) Green Door Store
(c) Green Door Store

Date/Time - (a) Thursday 8th May - 8:15pm
(b) Thursday 8th May 2014 - 12:30pm
(c) Friday 9th May 2014 - 3:30pm

Why do I care?
The Berlin-based trio are led by Belfast lass Rosie Blair, and their dreamy-pop creations led to them being picked up for release by Bella Union, home of Fleet Foxes and Cashier No.9 amongst others. Their E.P "Boys Again" has some great tracks, and it feels like they are on the verge of becoming alternate favourites.


The Clameens

Venue - Sticky Mike's Frog Bar

Date/Time - Saturday 10th May - 12.45am

Why do I care?
The Derry band have won over many people with their spunky, youthful take on indie-rock, and as they continue to grow in stature and confidence, they are only going to get better.


Go Wolf

Venue - Festival Hub Stage (Spiegelpub)

Date/Time - Friday 9th May - 1:15pm

Why do I care?
The band have started to build up quite a bit of blog love for their dance-friendly indie-rock music, and with them still riding the waves of a prominent feature in a Kitsuné compilation album, expect them to be a pretty popular draw.


Little Matador

Venue - The East Wing


Date/Time - Thursday 8th May - 8:30pm

Why do I care?
This supergroup, led by Nathan Connolly, have just released their fantastic debut album, so expect to see the crowds singing along to every single one of the band's rocking tunes on Thursday evening.

Ryan Vail

Venue - Queen's Hotel

Date/Time - Saturday 10th May - 9:15pm

Why do I care?
This electronic duo (for Ryan Vail is a duo, although confusingly enough 1/2 of the duo is called Ryan Vail) make highly intricate, intelligent dance music, the sort of music that should make your head move just as much as your body. Well, they do say that the brain is a muscle.




Southern



Venue - Blind Tiger


Date/Time - Thursday 8th May - 7:15pm

Why do I care?
The country-cum-folk rock siblings have taken a real leap forward since the release of "World Don't Shine" and "Where The Wild Are" in the past few months, and with a punchy new sound at their disposal, you would be a fool to miss out on them.

UNKNWN

Venue - Green Door Store

Date/Time - Saturday 10th May - 11:30pm

Why do I care?
Until recently, UNKNWN was known as UNKNWN because he was, indeed, unknown. This has now changed, due of a) UNKNWN revealing his true identity to be Chris Hanna, and b) the addition of Gemma Dunleavy as a member of the project. But that's just superfluous background, what is important is their music, which is dark but melodic dub-based music, which has seen them win worldwide attention.




The Wonder Villains


Venue - Blind Tiger

Date/Time - Sunday 11th May - 12:00am

Why do I care?
Because they are fun and awesome. Don't think I can elaborate any more than that.


Northern Irish Showcase - In association with Generator NI


Venue - Prince Albert

Date - Friday 9th May

Artists/Stage Times -

The Clameens - 12:30pm
Go Wolf - 1:15pm
The Wonder Villains - 2:00pm
Ryan Vail - 2:45pm
UNKNWN - 3:30pm

Why do I care?
Because you can enjoy five of Northern Ireland's finest musical prospects, one after another, without having to leave the bar. How could you not enjoy that?

Sunday 27 April 2014

Cheerleader - Perfect Vision


It's hard to believe that it's less than two weeks until The Great Escape, one of the biggest festivals of new and emerging music, begins in Brighton. This will be the first time TMB will be in attendance at the festival, and to say that we are excited would be something of an understatement. Over 30 venues within walking distance of each other, all of whom with live music happening over the space of a few days? Our definition of heaven, and well worth the travel over the Irish Sea for.

Of course, there's a few bands who will be travelling a lot further than ourselves to get there, such as Philadelphia 5-piece Cheerleader. Having impressed many people with a series of lo-fi demo recordings, the band have recently premièred their first official single, "Perfect Vision". To say that it's a lovely wee gem would be something of an understatement, it's just wonderful. It shares many musical similarities with The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, such as the hushed vocals and a penchant for early 90s indie. This of course is no bad thing. It's a stunning debut track - it looks like ourselves and many others has just discovered another must-see artist for TGE.

"Perfect Vision" will be released on April 28th. The band play The Great Escape on May 10th at 6pm, at The Corn Exchange (on the same bill as Jon Hopkins and Charli XCX).

Friday 25 April 2014

Pariis Opera House - Hearts


It's very rare for us at TMB to feature straight-up dance music, but in the case of this song and artist, we are more than happy to make an exception. London based duo Pariis Opera House first came to our attention at the end of last year with the wonderful "DRAGNDROP", their incredibly harsh, robotic yet immediately infectious take on electro-house. Following on from this, the duo are releasing the 2nd single from their debut album "Uniiverse II", and it's a cracking single indeed.

"Hearts" may retain the harsh, buzzing synths of their previous single, but they have created something much warmer and accessible through the addition of a children's choir on backing vocals. Given that it shares a few musical similarities with one of the biggest dance hits of the year so far, "Changes", by Faul & Wad Ad vs PNAU, things bode very well for the band.

Also be sure to check out the music video for "Hearts", which features a sock puppet getting up to all sorts of shenanigans.

"Hearts" will be released on May 5th.




Thursday 24 April 2014

Prides - Messiah


Having introduced themselves to the world last year with the fantastic "Out Of The Blue" last year, and re-reminded us of their brilliance a few months ago with "The Seeds You Sow", everyone's favourite non-Chvrches Scottish synth-pop trio Prides have announced the release of their brand new single.

The band have stated that the goal of their new single, "Messiah", is to bring back pitch bent keyboard sounds into popular music. To allow it to rise from the dead, if you will. And I think it's fair to say that they have done a pretty decent job of it. Prides seem to specialise in making synth-pop that is just screaming out to be played in stadiums, and if "Messiah", a track that's as 80s as the Rubik's Cube and as big as Giant Haystacks, is anything to go by, they are gradually inching their way there.

"Messiah" will be released on June 23rd. They play at The Great Escape, Brighton on May 9th, and spend the rest of the month supporting Foxes, the lucky beggars.

Tuesday 22 April 2014

Go Wolf - One More Night


Those Go Wolf fellows have done well for themselves recently, haven't they? The Belfast band received a major career boost a few months back when their song "Voices" was featured on a Kitsuné Compilation album, bestowing on them the status as the Northern Irish band most likely to break through internationally in 2014*.

Now the band have released a brand-new single, and in recognition of the increasing worldwide buzz for the group, it premiered earlier today on highly influential blog Indie Shuffle. "One More Night" is another great tune from the group. They have, and will inevitably be compared to Phoenix and Two Door Cinema Club because, let's face it, it's the rule that every hip, danceable indie band will be compared to those two, but I'd like to think that they offer something a little bit different to the norm. Regardless, "One More Night" is a rather infectious little ditty, and if early indications are anything to go by, then this song could be their first true breakout song.

"One More Night" will be released on June 2nd.


*Among solo acts, I think we all agreed that NI's brightest hope was, and continues to be, SOAK.

Monday 21 April 2014

Nudybronque - Moondog E.P


In all the emails your humble captain has received from purveyors of fine music, this introductory greeting from Wiltshire based trio Nudybronque is perhaps the favourite -

Hello Christopher,

We found you! At last. We're so relieved. The internet is big, isn't it?


With such a charming greeting, we'd more than happy to write anything about the band, regardless of whether they're any good or not. Thankfully, their most recent E.P, "Moondog", is rather good indeed.

The band seem to have taken inspiration from a smorgasbord of intelligent bands from rock history in order to create something that's both brilliant and very much their own. Take "No Wives, No Children", for example. The song seems to take cues from The Beatles, Pulp and Muse, yet also adds a little bit of their own flavour by adding some organ and accordion into the mix. Another quality track on the record is "Peachy Keen",  the E.P's most raucous track, which take cues from the less dance-y end of Franz Ferdinand. The rest of the E.P is unable to keep up the same quality of the first two tracks, although that's not to say they aren't bereft of interesting sounds and ideas - their slow-building take on 50s rock and roll on "Allsorts" is worth listening to.

"Moondog" by Nudybronque sets the band up as one of the more interesting bands to emerge from the Swindon area. They've got a knack for an intelligently put together tune, a somewhat sardonic sense of humour, and if their email etiquette is anything to go by, they are perfect gentlemen as well. Not all ideas may stick, but there's enough here to mark the band out are future cult icons.

"Moondog E.P" is available to buy now.


Thursday 17 April 2014

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Simple & Sure/Eurydice


The Pains of Being Pure At Heart are genuinely one of the blog's favourite new bands to have emerged in the past five years. They first grabbed our attention with their scruffy, lo-fi, yet brilliant self-titled début album, then completely blew us away with their more polished follow-up, "Belong", an album which in "Heart In Your Heartbreak" has given us one of the finest indie-pop anthems of recent times, and which ended up as our favourite of 2011. In spite of this, there seems to have been some uncertainly surrounding the release of album #3. Its release date appears to have shifted several times since it was first announced, and it wasn't until yesterday that it was even confirmed for release in the UK (we'll be getting it a few weeks after our American brothers).

So should we be worried? If the first two singles from the album are anything to go by, we really have nothing to fret over. "Simple And Sure" has been floating on the interwebs for a few months now, and is a deceptively straightforward example of The Pains' knack for a indie-pop brilliance. In "Eurydice" however, they really do have something extraordinary in their possession. Taking its name from a character from Greek mythology, the song is the nearest to a straight-up rock song the band has given us, and has all the hallmarks of a classic - its expansive yet measured production, it's soaring, infectious chorus, and that wonderful moment 3 minutes into the song when the counter-vocals come in. Just when you thought the band couldn't match "Heart In Your Heartbreak", they just go and shoot it out of the water.

The first album from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart got a few complaints from people who though it was too under-produced. Their follow-up received criticism for being too over-produced (something we don't happen to agree with, incidentally). Will their new album be their 'Baby Bear' record, one that is 'just right'? I don't think we've got anything to worry about at all - if "Eurydice" isn't this blog's top song of 2014 come December, and the album isn't jostling for the number 1 spot, then I will be very surprised.

"Days of Abandon" will be released in the UK on June 2nd on Fierce Panda Records.




Photo is (c) Shervin Lainez. 

Wednesday 16 April 2014

Silent Noise Parade - Fears


It's not usual for TMB to feature two bands from Limerick in the space of a week, but sometimes that's the way the metaphorical cookie crumbles. Five-piece electro band Silent Noise Parade already have one album under their belts, and as the band gear up for #2 later in the year, they have just released a brand new single, "Fears".

In the past week, "Fears" has picked up more than its fair share of love on the Irish blogosphere, which should come as no surprise, as it's a pretty great tune. The song is a dark and glacial, yet catchy electronic song characterised by a forceful yet memorable synth riff. It calls to mind a little bit of Prides in terms of its structure, but oddly enough also sounds a little bit like a more synthetically focused Linkin Park as well.

Silent Noise Parade's début album didn't really excite us when it came out last year, but if they can keep up the quality they've shown on "Fears", them number 2 is going to be rather exciting indeed.

"Fears" is available to download from reputable music download stores.

Monday 14 April 2014

Meadowlark - Family Tree


Plymouth based Meadowlark are probably going to be getting compared to London Grammar a lot, given that they're both female-led trios with vocals that pull firmly on the heartstrings. However, that is more or less where the similarities end, at least if "Family Tree" is anything to by.

Unlike LG, whose sound is quite electronic and stripped back, Meadowlark offer something more earthy, organic and expansive, as singer Kate McGill sings of familial angst over a sparse piano line, which blooms into something more cinematic by the time we reach the 4:30 mark. They've got something special here, just don't let the lazy comparisons put you off.

"Family Tree" is taken from the band's début E.P "Three Six Five", which will be released on May 26th. 

Saturday 12 April 2014

The Clameens - Don't Judge


A couple of weeks ago, I headed up to Derry to see The Clameens play a showcase gig organized by Tom Robinson in Sandinos Bar, alongside fellow purveyors of great music Best Boy Grip & Ryan Vail. Because of the size of the venue, they were playing a stripped-down acoustic set, which given their rather rocky sound on record, seemed like an odd decision. Nonetheless, the band put in a great performance, and just showed how much potential this young band have, and showed that even when stripped down to the bare bones, they sure know how to write a decent song.

One of the songs they performed on the night was "Don't Judge", which the band have now released as their latest single, with some visual accompaniment. The song is a short sharp tune about youthful defiance, as the band put up two fingers to those who have preconceived notions of people just because of their age. It's another strong track in The Clameens' arsenal.

"Don't Judge" is available to purchase now.

Album Review: Shonen Knife - Overdrive

(Damnably)
It's been two years after Japanese trio Shonen Knife released "Pop Tune", showing that more than 30 years into their career, they still have the knack for crafting crackingly good pop-punk tunes. Now in 2014, the band give us "Overdrive", their 20th release in all. This time around, the band have expressed their desire to pay homage to 70s hard rock, and as such the album takes a back-to-basics approach, with no computers or keyboards in play, just guitars, bass, drums and vocals. So does this mean that this isn't a typical Shonen Knife album?

Thankfully, the answer is no. The tone may be different, but this is still the same band that we have come to know and love. The album kicks off with "Bad Luck Song", a song that owes a certain debt to Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back In Town", yet has a playful tone to it as lead singer Naoko wonders if songs that are supposed to be bad luck actually might be the opposite. Next up is "Black Crow", and a rock song title like that, you might imagine that the titular crow might be a harbinger of doom, or a metaphor for the destructive habits of mankind. But no, the worst thing this bird does is keep Naoko from falling asleep.

Shonen Knife have been known to write songs around two main things - food and cute animals, and unlike "Pop Tune", this album has plenty of songs about both. "Ramen Rock" sees bassist Ritsuko tell of her love of post-gig noodles, "Fortune Cookie" is about the titular biscuit and their precognitive powers, whilst the best of the food trilogy is "Green Tea". The song features one of the most memorable, bad ass ascending/descending guitar riffs on the album, as drummer Emi sings about all the food she loves that contain green tea, including ice-cream, cookies and chocolate.

On the animal front, we have "Like A Cat", a great little song in which Naoko imagines what it's like being a feline. There aren't many bands that can get away with lyrics like "Meow meow meow, spend your days like a cat", but it is a testament to the charm of Shonen Knife that we love them all the more for it.

"Overdrive" may be Shonen Knife's version of a heavy-rock record, but at its heart, it is still a Shonen Knife album - full of all the fun, silliness and good times beneath its sludgier veneer that one comes to expect from the trio. It might not be as strong an album as its immediate predecessor "Pop Tune", but it still a worthy addition to the band's catalogue.

Released: 14th April 2014

Highlights: "Bad Luck Song", "Shopping", "Green Tea"

Friday 11 April 2014

Moscow Metro - Spirit of a City (E.P)


It has been over a year since first being introduced to Limerick based 4-piece Moscow Metro* through their wonderful debut double-A side containing the tracks "Spirit of a City" and "Cosmos" for free, which sounded near perfect in spite of the band only being together for a few months at the time of recording. Now fast-forward 12 months, and as a result of the initial love for the band, they are releasing their first E.P, "Spirit of a City".

Unsurprisingly, the E.P kicks off with the title track, and as we said last year, the song is a "mid tempo anthemic rock number in the mode of The Killers or The National, tailor made for multi-seated stadiums and for closing festival proceedings", and 12 months onwards, we stick firmly by that appraisal. The second track "Future Fades" shares a similar musical DNA, and is just as enjoyable. In fact, you can pinpoint the exact moment when the audience will go mental when this one is played live - it's at 1:35 in.

"Headlights" is a more subdued, shoegaze-y track, with the guitars turned down ever so slightly and the percussion slightly more purposeful, one that fans of Jesus & Mary Chain might get excited by. "Where It All Ends", the 'official' closing track** is similarly subdued, although it erupts into something magical by its end, a little bit of joy beneath the darkness that has gone before it.

"Spirit of a City" deserves to be the release that introduces Moscow Metro to a swarm of new fans. Last year, we said that they should be your new favourite band. 12 months on, we stand by that assessment. If you like your punk a little past the post, your guitars loud, and your darkness as anthemic as possible, then "Spirit of a City" is the release you have craved all these years.

"Spirit of a City" is available to purchase as of today.



*Written as M O S C O W M E T R O, but for the sake of my thumbs and space bar (given that it's highly likely we will be featuring this band again on numerous occasions), I will refrain from typing it in this way.
**The wonderful "Cosmos" has been left as a hidden track, presumably because its sound wouldn't flow in the context of the E.P. This is a shame, as I feel it's their strongest song. Oh well, one can hope that its hidden nature means that they'll have big plans for it further on down the line.

Wednesday 9 April 2014

PØRTS - Ancient Wave



Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great sadness that I must inform you that Little Bear are no more. Abandon hope all ye who enter here.

Hmm, that was perhaps a little bit over-dramatic. Let me start again.

Much loved and fast-rising Derry band Little Bear have announced that as of today, they will no longer be recording under that name. There were a few reasons given for the change - firstly that there are a few bands currently recording under the name Little Bear (although none that have came up on our radar, present company excepted), but also because Little Bear is a registered trademark in the United States (presumably through the childrens books of the same name).

I guess it's understandable to change the name before the band gets any bigger - after all, they don't want to get into the same bother that other acts before them have had in the States (it really did pain me to see CDs for The London Suede when I was in Nashville). And on the promising side, if they're taking into account how they're going to present themselves in America now, then it's must be because they're expecting to do well over there.

So it's farewell to Little Bear, and hello to PØRTS - all capitals, diacritic through the "O", a nautical name that we at TMB very much approve of. And to mark the change, the band have just release their first single under their new name, "Ancient Wave". It's very much what we've come to expect from the band, heartfelt folk-rock with harmony vocals and flourishes of the anthemic. It's enough to reassure us that even though the name has changed, they're still the same wonderful band they've always been.

"Ancient Wave" by PØRTS is available to purchase now.


Tuesday 8 April 2014

Step Rockets - Heart Attack Again


Ooh, this is one single we've been awaiting with much anticipation.

Back in August, we were introduced to Minneapolis band Step Rockets through their bloody amazing single "Kisser", commenting at the time that they "will be your favourite new band of 2014". Much to our amazement, but not to our surprise, the song powered its way to the top of the Hype Machine chart with little-to-no promotion, and currently sits at around 500k plays on Soundcloud, which is pretty fantastic for an unsigned band. Having named them one of our international Tips for 2014, we were sure they were going to deliver something special.

And 5 months on, special is exactly what Step Rockets have delivered in the form of "Heart Attack Again", which premiered earlier on today on the blog of top tastemakers Neon Gold. The song sees the band adding a slight R&B vibe to their sound and toning down the guitars a little, whilst still retaining their own unique melding of indie-rock and electronica. Once again, the band shows off their knack for great big hooks (you'll have the "give me heart attack" part stuck firmly in your head for ages once the song is over), and wonderful anthemic choruses.

On initial "Heart Attack Again" might not be as strong as its predecessor, "Kisser", but let's face it - you'd be hard-pressed to find many songs released last year (or even since then) that were. "Heart Attack" is still a worthy follow-up for Step Rockets, who have done a fantastic job of re-tailoring rock music for modern audiences.

So were we right last year when we said they will be your favourite new band of 2014? You bet your life we were. Now all that needs to happen is for the wider world to take notice, because now they have no excuse.

Monday 7 April 2014

Port Isla - Steamroller


It really doesn't seem like a year since your humble captain last set sail for Port Isla, but that would appear to be the case. The Norwich four-piece have impressed both TMB and many others blogs with their raucous folk sound, and with an upcoming tour in support of George Ezra in June (as well as a slot at this year's Great Escape Festival next month), the band have announced the release of their debut E.P.

The title track, "Steamroller", has just been unveiled, and if you hadn't fallen for the band before now, then you'll most definitely done so by the time the song ends. It's their most accessible song to-date (not that their past material wasn't, mind you), with its massive choruses and upbeat tempo. The band seem to have injected a little bit of Bruce Springsteen and third album Noah & The Whale into their folksy sound, giving them an anthemic quality that had only been hinted at before now.

"Steamroller" will be released on April 28th.

Saturday 5 April 2014

Northern Ireland Tunes - Round-Up #26

We're into April already? Where did the time go? I'm sure there are philosophers and scientists who can answer that question with more certainly than this humble music blogger, so I'll safely leave that question in their capable hands.

One of the things I love about doing this quick round-up of tunes from Northern Ireland is that it shows the great variety of artists and music styles that 'our wee province' has to offer. You'd be hard pressed to find many similarities between the acts featured in this month's round-up, and sometimes that diversity we have here is sometimes overlooked.

But anyway, here endeth the babble, and on with the tunes that are sure to float your Metaphorical Boat this month -
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Selene - Not Enough

It's safe to say that Northern Ireland is not a place synonymous with symphonic metal. One band looking to change that is Derry band four-piece Selene. Okay, it might not be true symphonic metal, given that they use keyboards instead of live strings, but in fairness to the group, hiring an orchestra is rather expensive. Their latest single is "Not Enough", a song that fans of Lacuna Coil and Nightwish might enjoy immensely.


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Dramatic Tiger Club - Something About Beats and Breath

It's fair to say that Derry sextet Dramatic Tiger Club really do have their own unique sound, or 'folkspoke rock' as they call it. Their song "Something About Beats and Breath" is a mixture of spoken word vocals over jazzy yet subtle piano chords, complimented by a strong, emotion baiting chorus. It's hard to draw comparisons with other groups, but I imagine that if you liked Black Box Recorder, but were looking for something a little less poppy and more stripped back, you might find something to like in DTC.


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Ocean of Lights - A Deep Breath Before the Plunge

And the winner of the most pretentious song title from a Belfast music this month goes to...Daniel Thornton, aka Ocean of Lights, for his instrumental ambient post-rock song "A Deep Breath Before The Plunge". If you're a music supervisor on a nature documentary looking for something to soundtrack a montage of the animal world, then you may have just the track you need here.


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Shane McCaul - Barefoot

If you have even the slightest passing interest in Northern Irish music (and let's face it - you wouldn't be reading this blog if that wasn't the case), then you will probably have come across Derry man Shane McCaul before. Having performed backing vocals to Best Boy Grip both live and on record, he has just released his debut E.P, "Barefoot". The title track is a great introduction to his music, which is broadly acoustic rock with soulful vocals.


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The Nouvelles - Rising

And we finish up this month's round-up with The Nouvelles. Technically they're a Wigan band, but given that their lead singer is from Belfast, it felt right to include them, especially given the strength of their song "Rising". Want to know whether you should hit play? If you've ever wanted to know what "Don't Stop Believin" would sound like in the 21st century, only with male/female vocals and rave synths instead of guitars, then hit the orange button below and be won over.

Thursday 3 April 2014

Wolf Alice - Moaning Lisa Smile


Hello, bandwagon. How goes it? It's been a while, but it's time we got reacquainted, especially now that London 4-piece Wolf Alice have a new single out.

Ah, Wolf Alice. Another artist that has inhabited this blog's ever increasing 'Inbox of Shame', filled with artists we've meant to get around to writing about but never actually did so. Not that Wolf Alice needed it, mind. They were the most popular artist on UK blogs in 2013, and were shortlisted for the UK Blog Sound of 2014 off the back of their uber-popular "Blush" E.P.

Now signed to Dirty Hit, the home of The 1975, the band will be releasing a new E.P in May, which has been produced by Catherine Marks, who engineered Foals' mighty-sounding "Holy Fire". The first song to be taken from the E.P is "Moaning Lisa Smile", which is a roaring onslaught of wonderful, grungy noise. 2014 is going to be a great year for the band, and they've kicked it off in spectacular style.

Wolf Alice's new E.P, "Creature Songs", will be released on 26th May.