We Were Promised Jetpacks

24 November 2009

We Were Primised Jetpacks We Were Promised Jetpacks made what has become probably my favourite record of 2009 in “These Four Walls” (yes I know I should do a full review), and to finish the year they are releasing a double A-side “It’s Thunder and It’s Lightning”/ “Ships With Holes Will Sink” which are two of my favourites off a consistently fantastic album.

In a year that has been dominated by the resurgence of folk and synth-pop, it is always good to have such undeniably talented indie rockers reminding us of quite how good they can be.

It’s Thunder and It’s Lightning drives through from start to finish with rushing, distorted guitars, which is broken by soft Edinburgh-accented vocals, with the whole song rising to a wall of sound crescendo. A song that is beautiful as it is brutal.

Ships with Holes will Sink pulls in double-time beating drums, held guitar chords and a more aggressive vocal line. The song continually builds and then falls back to a beat and bass led verse, which then get pulled back by the force of singer Adam Thompson’s vocals.

The AA single is released on 30th November, and whilst I can’t share the MP3s of that, here we have a great live version of Ships with Holes will Sink recorded at The Mill in Glasgow (find more live MP3s here)
We Were Promised Jetpacks – Ships with Holes will Sink (live)

…and then another of my favourites from the album, and a past single “Quiet Little Voices” (buy the 7″ here)
We Were Promised Jetpacks – Quiet Little Voices

We Were Promised Jetpacks LIVE
Nov 25th – Manchester Roadhouse
Nov 26th – Liverpool Korova
Nov 27th – Sheffield Leadmill
Nov 29th – Glasgow King Tutts
Dec 31st – Edinburgh Hogmanay Street Party

…and here we’ve got them playing “Conductor” live at the Borderline on 17/11/2009

Jamie T – The Man’s Machine

By: Tim

23 November 2009

In: News & Leaks, Reviews

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Jamie T - The Man's Machine What year it has been for Jamie T. Maybe the prolific song releasing is what has caused the poor fella to come down with a spot of laryngitis, but that doesn’t mean that he hasn’t produced one of my top three albums of the year and a handful of EPs to boot – the latest being The Man’s Machine that dropped today. That is twenty tunes in twelve months (plus the odd freebie) – impressive stuff, especially as there is very little filler in there.

The Man’s Machine was one of my favourite tracks from Kings & Queens and a fitting title to this four track EP with its machine gun drum and bass intro, rough production and that perfectly unpretentious London sing-speak style. And a chorus hook that sticks in your head far far too easily with the poetic ode to the nations capital with the lyrics “stone, glass, concrete and gravel, underground travel and overcast weather”.

The other three tracks on here demonstrate the broad range of styles that he pulls on with such ability. “Man not a Monster” jumps about with its punk-ska rhythms and sounds and “Believing in things that can’t be done” is a hopeful ballad demonstrating his softer more intimate side.

Jamie T – Believing in things that can’t be done

[BUY] The Man’s Machine EP on CD @ Rough Trade | Amazon UK | Amazon US
[BUY] The Man’s Machine EP on 12″ @ Rough Trade | Amazon UK | Amazon US

That should be enough to ignite your interest, and if you haven’t picked up the album yet – I can’t recommend it enough (and I hopefully might have a review up soon).
[BUY] Kings & Queens @ Rough Trade | Play | Amazon UK | Amazon US

Noah and the Whale – Love of an Orchestra

By: Tim

22 November 2009

In: News & Leaks, Reviews

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Noah and the Whale - Love of an Orchestra Noah and the Whale (MySpace) consistently get some of the best remixers to give their tracks a once over, and this is exactly what they’ve done again with Love of an Orchestra. Now the original is a great and warm and uplifting track that really sounds like NATW have got a Christmas choir singing on parts of it. Maybe that’s the time of the year that’s making me think that, but it sounds like it was made for a Christmas release.

My favourite of the bunch by quite a way this time round is by Californians NightWaves, who have added sweeping synths and a laid back spacious feel, but keeping the choral vocals that made the original so enjoyable. I’ve added their remix below, but you can pick up the other two by Gold Panda and Max Tundra over at Drum Roll Please…

Noah and the Whale – Love of an Orchestra (NightWaves Remix)

If you haven’t already picked up Noah and the Whales impressive second album “The First Days of Spring“, it comes highly recommended.

[BUY] The First Days of Spring @ Rough Trade | Play | Amazon UK | Amazon US