The Vaccines – Post Break Up Sex

22 December 2010

The Guardian described The Vaccines‘ music as ‘retro flavoured rock n’roll’, a sound of which the band is leading the revival. It is undeniably refreshing, and their first release ‘Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra)’ was a short and sweet reminder of the guitar based sound of late seventies and the early eighties.

The band’s next single ‘Post Break Up Sex’ is another rousing old school track, in which frontman Jay Jay Pistolet gives his wisdom over the track’s title. While he plays the clean basic riff throughout the song guitarist Freddie Cowan adds a bit of variety with a selection a solos and build ups. The track deals with a break up from its beginning to its regretful end and this done through straightforward lyrics such as the chorus “post break up sex that helps you forget your ex”. Simple, yet brilliant, the lead singer’s harsh and blank voice and maybe even angry tone seems to have found a home.

It is to be released on January 31st to coincide with the bands appearance in the NME Awards Tour 2011 and comes with the B-side ‘We’re Happening’.

[Pre-order] The Vaccines – Post Break Up Sex on 7″ @ Banquet Records
[Pre-order] The Vaccines – Post Break Up Sex as MP3 @ AmazonMP3 | iTunes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU9hrd35Dsg

The Vaccines – Wreckin Bar (Ra Ra Ra)

The Vaccines – Blow It Up

Young & Lost + Hit Club Xmas Party

By: Tim

22 December 2010

In: News & Leaks, Reviews

2 comments

We may well all be well into the Christmas mood, as we all try to get home by shovelling snow, but I can think of no better way to start off the winter shenanigans than with a party/showcase from Young & Lost Club and Hit Club. Counter Culture was the venue, and you could be nothing if not impressed by the quality of talent playing that night (all photos by Anna Bo).

When I strode in (relatively early for once), the folkish delights of Hot Feet were playing in the first room. A lovely way to relax into the evening that got everyone cheery and foot tapping. It’s a bluesy folk sound, and played with quite the groove, and some fascinating rhythms on the drums (yes I’m a drummer so pay more attention to the man at the back than most).

Fixers (who seem always to be mentioned as the UK answer to Animal Collective) were another band that I had heard so much about, but still hadn’t seen – and they were worth the wait. The layering is beautiful, as each song is slowly built – but their next single Iron Deer Dream (released on Young & Lost the day after my birthday next year *hint*) was far and away the highlight of the set.

Fixers – Iron Deer Dream

Fixers – Amsterdam

Bruise Music was the introduction to Vincent (from Vincent, Vincent and the Villains) new band that were as he said “so new that no-one on the internet had has had a chance to write anything bad about us yet” – but after their set I still can’t see why anyone would. Vincent strutted around dressed like a matador, but the songs were all 60s swagger and his voice as engaging as ever it has been. I can’t wait for these guys to release their first single/EP/whatever else they can think of.

Entrepreneurs may just be Adam Crisp backed by his signature blend of beeps, beats and squeaks, but the tunes speak for themselves live just as they do on record. Crisp’s dishevelled, trampish appearance alone on stage hides the electronic talent that you just need to hear.

Entrepreneurs – Bubblegunk

Celine – Al Cool & The Stranger Wines (Entrepreneurs Cocktail Mix)

ExLovers were fantastic as always with the harmonies and showing off a little of their darker twee side. They’ve come a long way in the last few years, and a band that always come to mind when I think of Young & Lost.

Photobooth

Blowing Kisses

Get People closed out the night in some style. Their tropical style has been gaining quite the momentum recently, and whilst I was nervous about the pan pipes when I first heard them on record (I was once followed around Eastern Europe by a Peruvian pan pipe band), the whole soundscapes get fully realized in a live setting. You suddenly forget about the blistering cold outside as the boys blew though their set. Well worth missing that last train.

Careless by GET PEOPLE

Home & Away: Come Pick Me Up

By: Guest

21 December 2010

In: Features, News & Leaks

0 comments

We are good humored people. Never have we minded being the object of the Coen Brothers’ playful derision. We don’t even care that New York and Los Angeles have a hard time placing us on the map. Nor do the country bumpkin Midwestern jokes get too far under our skin. In fact, the people of Minneapolis, MN are well versed in the ways of the breezy, the ebullient, and the lighthearted. We love a good bit of sarcasm and a health dose of irony. When my favorite local band Halloween, Alaska (MySpace) included a cover of LL Cool J’s “I Cant Live Without My Radio” on their sophomore release Too Tall To Hide, I was expecting it to be at least a bit disingenuous. Now I can’t help but thinking the interpretation is completely sincere and unaffected – and I challenge you to disagree with me after hearing it. Add it to the list, already a mile long, of why I love James Diers and crew.
Although I dug a couple of years into the archives for this track, the band is nearly finished with their third album – which is sure to meet as much critical acclaim as have the others.
(Halloween, Alaska coverage on Come Pick Me Up)

[BUY] Halloween Alaska – Champagne Downtown on CD | Vinyl | iTunes

Halloween Alaska – I Can’t Live Without My Radio

http://vimeo.com/4566190

When Tim asked me to participate as a guest blogger in the Home and Away series, I had a few questions I needed to unravel. Even though I just waxed poetic about my hometown, I am currently living in London. So, in the spirit of picking something further removed from where I lay my head, I wanted to highlight Glasgow’s Three Blind Wolves (MySpace). Their debut, the Sound of the Storm, is a tempered bit of alt-country and stands in sharp contrast to the band’s blistering headlining set at the Communion Music Christmas Party a couple of weeks back. Frontman Ross Clark was pretty much made for the stage.
I am over the moon about them, really. I wish I could tell you more, but they render me inarticulate. The new single “Echo on the Night Train” is, I hope, a precursor to a fantastic full length.
(Three Blind Wolves coverage on Come Pick me Up)

[BUY] Three Blind Wolves on iTunes

Three Blind Wolves – Echo On The Night Train

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5hZf2Vrzks

Blogger Picks Home & Away is our way of showcasing 12 of the best music bloggers around as we move towards 2011, and getting out of them a favourite band from their home town alongside a more international act they would like to hear more from. This post was written by Lizzy Jones from Come Pick Me Up which has stayed on my must read list since 2005 with a mass of great musical discoveries from Lizzy jumping back and forth Minnesota and London.