Lightguides – Samba Samba Samba

29 September 2011

Lightguides - Samba Samba Samba

The thundering and tumultuous pop-rock of Lightguides (facebook/twitter) has been described variously as simply “Scottish rock” after the successes of bands such Biffy Clyro or personal favourites of mine We Were Promised Jetpacks. It is definitely not samba.

But Lightguides are not just the product of their contemporaries and influences, as they manage to stray away through clever variations in time signature and song structures a little bizarre at times – all of which adding to their musical charm.

I’m never quite sure if I want to sing along to the pop-esque sections such as offered on The Arts Factory, stand in the rain and let W.H.Y.L run over me, or just get into the sweat of the mosh pit on sections of Colonel Crookshanks. Never is the listener given a chance to fall into any of these though, as Lightguides switch it up and drag you into another dimension.

The mini-album (it’s just 7 songs and 28 minutes) is held together by its variations. Each song somehow effortlessly taking you on a journey for which a lesser band would have devoted a whole EP. Not Lightguides though, they’ll squeeze it into four minutes and take you even further.

Samba Samba Samba is out now on the ever delightful Alcopop! Records.

[BUY] Lightguides – Samba Samba Samba on CD or MP3

Lightguides – WarHorse
Lightguides – The Arts Factory
Lightguides – Colonel Crookshanks
Lightguides – Old Bucket Seats
Lightguides – Bachelor Death Party
Lightguides – Starboard Superhero
Lightguides – W.H.Y.L.

The Lightwings

By: emma.r.weston

28 September 2011

In: News & Leaks

1 comment

The Lightwings

The Lightwings (facebook/twitter) are a regular fixture in all the ‘hip’ clubs around London of late. Hailing from South East London, this quartet have created a new sound that epitomises them entirely; Beatpop. It’s a mixture of Merseybeat, Britpop and Motown apparently and I can kind of see where they’re coming from.

Who Pulled the Trigger? begins with guitars that wouldn’t seem out of place on Thin Lizzy’s Greatest Hits and unravels into a bouncy, indie gem which should be filed next to bands like The Coral. Cheap Riches is a song played by the boy next door about the girl next door, full of pent up frustration over a backdrop of tambourine infused drums and laddish harmonies. The Lightwings are an experienced band who have an unfaltering sound which they have perfected and play without fault sounding like they should be playing in a burger joint in the 1960s as opposed to a smoke-free pub in 2011.

Cheap Riches by The Lightwings
Revolutions by The Lightwings
To A-nother Place by The Lightwings

Laura Marling – A Creature I Don’t Know

By: Tim

27 September 2011

In: News & Leaks, Reviews

1 comment

Laura Marling - A Creature I Don't Know

Laura Marling (facebook/twitter) left herself with a difficult task to follow up the runaway critical and commercial success that was her debut I Speak Because I Can, but you wouldn’t know that upon hearing A Creature I Don’t Know. Even at 21 it seems she can brush off the weight of expectation with just pure talent – something she showed off in abundance at her intimate launch party at The Crypts at Marylebone One a couple of weeks ago.

The album is simple, stark even in places, as it ducks and dives through elements of blues to traditional folk – but each song sounds complete. There is no unnecessary over-production that has blemished many a pop-record, it is just her and her band. There is real beauty in the simplicity in songs such as Night After Night that are just Marling and her guitar – slow, soft, and emotive.

This album does not follow in the footsteps of the various faux-folk or pop-folk albums we’ve seen in recent years. Rest In Bed is Marling opening her hymn book of simple celtic folk traditions, it isn’t nostalgic so much as medieval in tone – almost tribal but breathtaking in its crescendos.

My favourite on the album, however, is when Marling demonstrates her ability to turn her hand to sounds a little less subtle on The Beast. It’s aggressive, electric, and should be well out of Marling’s comfort zone, but she steps out from the shadows fighting.

The whole album is Marling stepping away from the easy soft melodies on which she built her debut, and instead embracing her influences from both home and abroad, of folk and bluegrass, of this century and past. It is a statement of her musical credibility, setting herself a long way ahead of the pack.

A Creature I Don’t Know is out now on Virgin Records.

[BUY] Laura Marling – A Creature I Don’t Know on VINYL @ Rough Trade
[BUY] Laura Marling – A Creature I Don’t Know on CD @ Rough Trade | Amazon
[BUY] Laura Marling – A Creature I Don’t Know on MP3 @ Amazon | iTunes

Laura Marling – Sophia by ListenBeforeYouBuy
Laura Marling – Rest In the Bed (on WNYC’s Spinning On Air)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHYwcz5aDmI