Jill_Valentine
Sacred and Profane
I'm starting to like Howling Bells an awful lot...
Alrighty, not necessarily new bands, nor rock bands, but bands I like the look of at the moment...
The Long Blondes
… are a one-band genre unto themselves. Glamour Punk, apparently. Sheffield is an unlikely style Mecca, but the Long Blondes' feverishly catchy tunes and devilishly entertaining lyrics are as canny as the Arctic Monkeys ever were and a gajillion times more fun. Like drinking eight litres of Vodka and then getting beaten up by a Grease convention, only to be rescued by an especially kindly passing Kathryn Hepburn lookalike on her way to a Jarvis Cocker theme disco, the only snag with the ‘Blondes is that Kate Jackson’s immense sexiness could prove detrimental to one’s health. Normally, I’d consider it slightly offensive to remark on such an immaterial aspect of the band, given how fresh and giddyingly good this band are as a whole, but don’t say I didn’t warn you if you find yourself sexied into a stroke when caught unawares. Fans emulate Jackson’s striking style so faithfully the other band members have trouble finding her in crowds, but no doubt those fans lack either her unique vocals or her kilometre long legs. Good lord.
Cansei De Ser Sexy
… are “this year’s Arcade Fire”. Not in the sense that they sound even the remotest bit like the Arcade Fire horde, but because there’s lots of them, they’re endearingly oddball to the point of faintly unsettling, and they straddle the mainstream/ indie divide with ease. The linguistically challenged should feel no shame in referring to them as CSS, given that they themselves feel no shame in mangling the English language ‘til it prays for death, but that’s all part of the fun. It’s the band’s disarming smiley face charm and blippity Gameboy beats that let them get away with peddling the most outrageous disco filth since Prince embraced the Mothership and disappeared from view. “Lick my arthole”, demands Lovefoxxx. Quite. CSS live their lives in the middle of Super Marioland, and reading a CSS lyric sheet is a little like going insane in a dictionary - at least Arcade Fire aren’t trying to make sense - but it’s hard to care because they’ll have you grinning ‘til even the back of your head aches. CSS are impossible to dislike, and their mind-bendingly alien music is so infectious they’ll have even the most hardened Emo Warrior dancing around like an idiot. Because by God, CSS knows that‘s the only way to dance.
The Klaxons
… are a million times heavier live than they are recorded, and, correspondingly, I got the crap knocked out of me when I saw them live. It's like getting trapped in a wind tunnel. What genre they are doesn’t actually matter, since people only mention it to say how stupid it is that people keep mentioning it, but Klaxons’ artsy 'ardness is proof that you don’t have to wear or indeed, shed - howaya, CSS - a tiny dress to put on a good show. No, Klaxons assault you with lots of music at once, and somehow it all works perfectly, like cheese and tuna and toast and beer. And I got through the whole Klaxons’ bit without once mentioning glowsticks.
Ah hell. Done it now…
Ham Sandwich
… have the worst band name I have ever heard. Not Prostitute Disfigurement or Insane Clown Posse or even !!! can come close. It is the worst band name in the English language. For one thing it’s ungoogleable, for another, it never gets better - I still wince every single time I hear it. As I understand it, it’s supposed to be an ironic comment on the absurdity of band name conventions. Well it’s just bloody annoying. Still, of all the Irish bands that broke out of nowhere this year - we have an indie scene that’s not Damien Rice, Gemma Hayes or The Frames?!?! When the hell did that happen? - The Sandwich are indisputably the best. Cowboy X owe a little too much Ladytron, The Blizzards sound a wee bit too much like 90’s Britpop. Ham Sandwich sound different. Maybe a bit Joy Division, maybe a bit Fields, maybe even the Smashing Pumpkins. Her almost choral voice hits his lazy sneer, and magic happens. Without too blatantly aping anybody, they sound like they belong to the Canadian music community rather than ours. But that could be what I like about them. Either way, confident, cool and sure to be copied by a million lesser Irish bands as soon as they hit mainstream properly. Not necessarily a bad thing. But it would be criminal if Ham Sandwich don't transcend Irish cult status.
Last, but not least…
Metric
…Are very much my favourite band on the planet, although they're actually probably going a bit quiet this year. Fun, fierce, and as outspoken as a cult Canadian synth rock outfit gets to be, last year was a big year for them. Monster Hospital cropped up on NME and MTV’s singles of the year list, they supported the Rolling Stones (where Vietnam era ‘Stones fans apparently took offence at the suggestion that Metric, rather than they, had “fought the war“), gave a frankly terrifying performance on Conan O’Brien and had the privilege of playing two shows for my benefit, the latter of which was the best show I have ever or will ever see in my life. They've apparently started plugging away on a new album due for next year, hopefully even in a real studio this time, rather than Jimmy‘s apartment. Where they also shot the Monster Hospital video. That’s indie. Hurrah! for new album, Boo! For less Metric live.
They're not the very indiest band ever, they're not the punkiest, the most radical, the suavest, the most commercial or the most political, but the balance they strike is perfection, far as I'm concerned. And Dead Disco is the very best song ever.
Alrighty, not necessarily new bands, nor rock bands, but bands I like the look of at the moment...
The Long Blondes
… are a one-band genre unto themselves. Glamour Punk, apparently. Sheffield is an unlikely style Mecca, but the Long Blondes' feverishly catchy tunes and devilishly entertaining lyrics are as canny as the Arctic Monkeys ever were and a gajillion times more fun. Like drinking eight litres of Vodka and then getting beaten up by a Grease convention, only to be rescued by an especially kindly passing Kathryn Hepburn lookalike on her way to a Jarvis Cocker theme disco, the only snag with the ‘Blondes is that Kate Jackson’s immense sexiness could prove detrimental to one’s health. Normally, I’d consider it slightly offensive to remark on such an immaterial aspect of the band, given how fresh and giddyingly good this band are as a whole, but don’t say I didn’t warn you if you find yourself sexied into a stroke when caught unawares. Fans emulate Jackson’s striking style so faithfully the other band members have trouble finding her in crowds, but no doubt those fans lack either her unique vocals or her kilometre long legs. Good lord.
Cansei De Ser Sexy
… are “this year’s Arcade Fire”. Not in the sense that they sound even the remotest bit like the Arcade Fire horde, but because there’s lots of them, they’re endearingly oddball to the point of faintly unsettling, and they straddle the mainstream/ indie divide with ease. The linguistically challenged should feel no shame in referring to them as CSS, given that they themselves feel no shame in mangling the English language ‘til it prays for death, but that’s all part of the fun. It’s the band’s disarming smiley face charm and blippity Gameboy beats that let them get away with peddling the most outrageous disco filth since Prince embraced the Mothership and disappeared from view. “Lick my arthole”, demands Lovefoxxx. Quite. CSS live their lives in the middle of Super Marioland, and reading a CSS lyric sheet is a little like going insane in a dictionary - at least Arcade Fire aren’t trying to make sense - but it’s hard to care because they’ll have you grinning ‘til even the back of your head aches. CSS are impossible to dislike, and their mind-bendingly alien music is so infectious they’ll have even the most hardened Emo Warrior dancing around like an idiot. Because by God, CSS knows that‘s the only way to dance.
The Klaxons
… are a million times heavier live than they are recorded, and, correspondingly, I got the crap knocked out of me when I saw them live. It's like getting trapped in a wind tunnel. What genre they are doesn’t actually matter, since people only mention it to say how stupid it is that people keep mentioning it, but Klaxons’ artsy 'ardness is proof that you don’t have to wear or indeed, shed - howaya, CSS - a tiny dress to put on a good show. No, Klaxons assault you with lots of music at once, and somehow it all works perfectly, like cheese and tuna and toast and beer. And I got through the whole Klaxons’ bit without once mentioning glowsticks.
Ah hell. Done it now…
Ham Sandwich
… have the worst band name I have ever heard. Not Prostitute Disfigurement or Insane Clown Posse or even !!! can come close. It is the worst band name in the English language. For one thing it’s ungoogleable, for another, it never gets better - I still wince every single time I hear it. As I understand it, it’s supposed to be an ironic comment on the absurdity of band name conventions. Well it’s just bloody annoying. Still, of all the Irish bands that broke out of nowhere this year - we have an indie scene that’s not Damien Rice, Gemma Hayes or The Frames?!?! When the hell did that happen? - The Sandwich are indisputably the best. Cowboy X owe a little too much Ladytron, The Blizzards sound a wee bit too much like 90’s Britpop. Ham Sandwich sound different. Maybe a bit Joy Division, maybe a bit Fields, maybe even the Smashing Pumpkins. Her almost choral voice hits his lazy sneer, and magic happens. Without too blatantly aping anybody, they sound like they belong to the Canadian music community rather than ours. But that could be what I like about them. Either way, confident, cool and sure to be copied by a million lesser Irish bands as soon as they hit mainstream properly. Not necessarily a bad thing. But it would be criminal if Ham Sandwich don't transcend Irish cult status.
Last, but not least…
Metric
…Are very much my favourite band on the planet, although they're actually probably going a bit quiet this year. Fun, fierce, and as outspoken as a cult Canadian synth rock outfit gets to be, last year was a big year for them. Monster Hospital cropped up on NME and MTV’s singles of the year list, they supported the Rolling Stones (where Vietnam era ‘Stones fans apparently took offence at the suggestion that Metric, rather than they, had “fought the war“), gave a frankly terrifying performance on Conan O’Brien and had the privilege of playing two shows for my benefit, the latter of which was the best show I have ever or will ever see in my life. They've apparently started plugging away on a new album due for next year, hopefully even in a real studio this time, rather than Jimmy‘s apartment. Where they also shot the Monster Hospital video. That’s indie. Hurrah! for new album, Boo! For less Metric live.
They're not the very indiest band ever, they're not the punkiest, the most radical, the suavest, the most commercial or the most political, but the balance they strike is perfection, far as I'm concerned. And Dead Disco is the very best song ever.