Dark Dark Horse

For whatever the reason, Leicester is slowly become renowned as a hub of interesting, original music currently pouring out of the UK. This is glowingly evident with the likes of Maybeshewill, Herra Hidro, Kyte, Minnaars and now with Dark Dark Horse, a collaboration between producer Jamie Ward, formerly of Kyte and now with Maybeshewill, and kids in cars singer James Stafford.

Combining Wards dark, atmospheric electronics with Staffords unique and at times very hypnotic vocals, Dark Dark Horse have had quite an unusual start to their musical journey. After posting their initial demos online, the first label that came calling just happened to be based over five thousand miles away from the bands hometown. Japanese label Rallye, home to Toro Y Moi and Au Revoir Simone, really impressed with what they had heard on the demos offered to release an album.

The label released the bands debut Centuries in Japan late last year, but after healthy interest and some airplay on national radio in the UK, Dark Dark Horse are currently busy working on a release date for this side of the world. And in a bizarre twist for an as yet unreleased album in the UK, a certain betting office is offering odds of thirty three to one on Dark Dark Horse to pick up this years Mercury Music Prize, the same odds as Mogwais Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will.

You can check out tracks from Centuries at the bands Myspace and Last fm pages.

Myspace

Last.fm

Interview - Seabear

On the back of an exhausting US tour for their latest album We Built a Fire and with their songs popping up in numerous hit TV shows, one may think that all this attention might go to the heads of eccentric Icelandic indie group Seabear. We can be rest assured however, that this has not happened and that the band, according to guitarist Halldór (Dori) Ragnarsson, still see themselves as simple musicians and nothing more. Drop-d got a chance to speak to Ragnarsson about life in Seabear, on a break from the bands ever increasing schedule.

Seabear started as the one man project of Sindri Mar Sigfusson, but through chance encounters in Reykjavik, it quickly escalated into a seven piece as Dori explains “It just happened. We all seemed to meet in a short space of time around the live scene in Reykjavik. Sindri asked us to play on a few tracks that he had been working on and it just evolved from that. Now we are all like a family and really enjoy writing and playing music together.”

In 2007 Seabear released their debut album The Ghost That Carried Us Away and followed this up in 2010 with the outstanding We Built A Fire, “On We Built A Fire we wrote the songs together”, describes Dori “it was like baking a cake at a kindergarten, some of us have a guitar riff or a drumbeat and the others add their input or idea to complete the song. When everyone is happy we know the song is finished.”

Although this all sounds easy and simplistic the album did have its share of problems, with the difficulty of trying to get all seven different personalities into the studio at the same time proving the biggest headache. “It took us a long time to finish that album,” Dori explicates, “we worked around it for almost two years, Sindri did all the recordings and it was sometimes hard to get us into the studio to finish it. When you are seven people doing the music together it can be complicated; not complicated necessarily about the music more so the logistics of it all. For the next record we are thinking about getting a producer to work with us.”

The success of the album in the states seems to have taken everyone in Seabear by surprise with the initial twenty five date tour expanding to over fifty due to phenomenal demand. “Yes it has been a really busy year for us. Around the world we have almost played a hundred gigs, but this is such a privilege to be able to tour the world and play our music. The fact that audiences in different countries know our music is such a thrill for us because in the end we are just a small indie band from Iceland and we will always just be musicians poor or not.” Dori added “I still don’t know why they want to use our music on the TV, this is a nice thing but it’s a very alien concept to me.”

The band have only played Ireland once supporting fellow Icelanders Mum here a few years ago, at a well received gig in Dublin. Dori still has fond memories of the place. “Yes, we liked it in Ireland a lot, in a lot of ways there are similarities to Iceland. I don’t know, sometimes there is nothing to do so you just meet up with your friends and make music. I got the impression that this is the same in Ireland from a few of the Irish musicians I have spoken to.” He continued “You guys can also be very proud of your whiskey which I really love and hopefully we will play in Ireland soon. I am personally going to scream at our booker as to why we have not been there for so long.”

So hopefully the bands booker will listen to these screams and get some live Seabear shows our side in the coming months. The album We Built A Fire is currently available and very worth a listen.

Eagleowl - Into The Fold EP

In the shadow of the city’s famous castle, Edinburgh lo-fi folksters Eagleowl have been taking it steady since 2005. Their latest offering the Into the Fold EP, which was meticulously planned and rehearsed around mealtimes, shows that sometimes slow and steady does in fact win the race.

Beginning life as a duo, with Bartholomew Owl guitars/vocals plus Malcolm Benzie violin/mandolin/ukulele/melodica, Eagleowl gradually expanded to include double-bass player Clarissa Cheong and the harmonium styling’s of Rob St John. Their previous EP Sleep the Winter gained the band some noticeable recognition in their home country, but Into the Fold sees the Scottish quartet slowly perfecting the art of the understatement.

Title track Into the Fold is a blissfully, spaced out piece of alt-folk with a gorgeous and intentionally at times out of tune harmonica running up and down its spine. Eagleowl cite Low as a massive influence and this track is one that Alan Sparhawk would be proud to call his own. Things take a very quirky turn with the following tune Morpheus which may easily make its way onto some deranged kids television show, if only there were such a thing. Normality is somewhat restored however, with the hauntingly, sombre ode to Neil Young that is Eat Hats, showcasing some very fine guitar work by Mr Owl. Proceedings come to a close with the sprawling nine minute odyssey No Conjunction which fades out with ‘Don’t look back when you get there' hypnotically chanted over and over, is quite a fitting way to bring it all to a close.

Into the Fold is definitely worth checking out for fans of Low, Galaxie 500,The Dirty Three and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy or for anyone who might want to hear the soundtrack to the saddest, most beautiful art-house film you’ve never seen as some of the press in Scotland have described Eagleowls latest work. When we may get to hear the bands full length debut is anybody’s guess as these Scots believe in doing things right, rather than doing things fast.

Surface of Atlantic - A Frame Per Season

French philosopher Blaise Pascal once noted that, “beauty is a harmonious relation between something in our nature and the quality of the object which delights us”. So if monsieur Pascal is to be believed, Surface of Atlantics delightful second record A Frame Per Season is indeed a work of beauty.

Formed in Montreal in 2005 through various musical projects, Surface of Atlantic have for the last number of years been building a loyal following in Canada with their unique live shows which consist of ten musicians accompanied by projections of abstract and dreamy visuals. A Frame Per Season is the bands follow up to their 2006 debut Ephemeral as We Speak and shows a band progressing and maturing at an astonishing rate.

With echo’s of early Sigur Ros, opener No Sleep, Walk blends silky strings and a marching drumbeat in glorious fashion as the listener is swept up on this musical adventure. The bands influences of jazz and old French pop are all touched upon in A Frame Per Season and no more so than with Bonjour Tristesse, which would not be out of place in an old Luis Bunuel or Francois Truffaut film. The group have had four of their songs featured in Xavier Dolans award winning picture Jai tue ma Mere and the cinematic ambiance is continued with the sparsely, gorgeous Sea and All Emerald Suns. Live favourite Great White is probably Surface of Atlantics most accomplished piece of work to date. The simplicity of the piano and violins blended with singer Dave Douvilles voice is masterfully brought together and would surely be a highlight on any bands record.

A Frame Per Season is a beautifully crafted, flowing record and certainly gives the impression that Surface of Atlantic didn’t suffer that tired old rock n roll cliché of the difficult second album. The bad news for us this side of the Atlantic, however, is the band has unfortunately no live dates scheduled over here this year, so we will not be able to hear the transition of this outstanding record to the stage.

Bearded's Guide to...Dublin

Originally posted on Bearded Magazine

There is an old joke floating around over here that goes something like, What is the difference between Bono and Jesus? and of course the punch line is Jesus doesn’t walk around Dublin thinking he’s Bono. Clearly U2 are the cities most famous musical export but Dublin has always been steeped in a rich and diverse musical history, with bands such as Thin Lizzy, The Boomtown Rats, My Bloody Valentine, A House and The Frames also calling the city home.

These days it is almost impossible not to be handed a flyer for some gig by one of the many new up and coming bands as you navigate your way around the city centre, which is testament to the current booming live scene in Dublin. There always seems to be some band playing somewhere every night of the week. Whelans on Wexford Street, one of the oldest and most established venues, offers a huge live roster of new and well known bands, while newer venues like The Button Factory in Temple Bar and The Workmans Club on Wellington Street are also helping to showcase a lot of the contemporary talent that Dublin is producing.

One of the bands to reap the benefits of playing the live circuit in the city is post rock outfit Butterfly Explosion. Formed in 2005 Butterfly Explosion were a staple on Dublin’s live scene for a few years before releasing their stunning debut record Lost Trails last year. Produced by Torsten Kinsella from God is an Astronaut, the record was a beautiful blend of dreamy shogegaze and explosive rock sentiment and has often been compared to My Bloody Valentine or Ride. If you can at all it is one that really should be checked out.

Singer songwriter Cathy Davey is another Dublin artist currently making waves over here. Her latest album The Nameless had critics gushing with praise for her spiky, pop infused, finely crafted songs. The album spawned a number of successful singles including Reuben, Moving and Sing for You Supper and has found Davey receiving plenty of deserved international recognition.

Other Dublin bands worthy of a mention include No Monster Club and Bats. The brainchild of Bobby Aherne (previously of Dublin Duck Dispensary) No Monster Club offer a collection of sunny surf rock and infectious sixties garage rock and roll. Their live shows can only be described as a hazy, psychedelic treat. Five piece Bats on the other hand pull absolutely no punches with their full on blend of post-punk, hardcore and metal. The bands debut album Red In Tooth & Claw, released on Richter Collective, is a must for fans of Fugazi and the D.C hardcore scene.

Butterfly Explosions Lost Trails is now available and the band is preparing to go on tour in the coming months.

Cathy Davey The Nameless is out now.

No Monster Club Young Guts Champion will be available soon.

Bats Red In Tooth & Claw is out now.

Sky Architects - The Reflection EP

Denmark is the home of Hans Christian Anderson, Lego, probably the best beer in the world and…Sky Architects. Hailing from the country’s second largest city Aarhus, the quintet recently released their excellent second EP The Reflection, a follow up to the bands 2008 eponymous debut.

The new five track recording shows the band have evolved and matured from their initial outing, with a direct and more coherent sound but without compromising their love for the epic melody. There is a deliberate rawness with The Reflection that has spawned from working with renowned Danish producer Jacob Bredahl, who wanted to capture the live energy of a Sky Architects show and as a result of this the tracks were mainly recorded in full live takes. The outcome of which plays brilliantly, with each track flowing seamlessly into the next.

With The Reflection, Sky Architects have produced a work to be very proud of. It completely captures the experience the band have accumulated playing alongside the likes of 65DaysofStatic, Caspian and our very own And So I Watch You From Afar as well as prominent Danish acts such as Kellermench, Lis Er Stille and Mimas.

According to the band “Sky Architects are not Post Rock, Metal, Indie or Pop, but instead a hybrid of all these genres and more. First and foremost we play with our hearts and it is therefore up to the individual listener to create their own experience of our sound.” So what are you waiting for, go on and create your own experience of Sky Architects, its well worth it.

The Reflection EP is available at http://skyarchitects.bandcamp.com

Telekinesis - 12 Desperate Straight Lines

Seattle indie rockers Telekinesis follow up their critically acclaimed self titled debut with '12 Desperate Straight Lines', an album sprinkled with powerful and catchy indie pop nuggets, a lot of fuzz, occasional distortion and straight forward, heartfelt lyrics. The fact alone that the record was even made is testimony to the bands founder Michael Benjamin Lerners belief in his own song writing.

When Lerner set out to record the songs for '12 Desperate Straight Lines' in the summer of 2010, he found himself with no band, a case of vertigo and a wrecked van. Alone in Berlin, he holed up in a rented room and spent hours writing the majority of the songs for the new record. Returning to a rain soaked Seattle, Lerner once again hooked up with Chris Walla (Death Cab for Cutie), who produced the first Telekinesis record, and managed, in between impromptu dance parties and recording drum parts backwards, to get the album finished.

The albums opener 'You Turn Clear in the Sun', begins with Lerner confessing “we fell in love in the summer by spring time we were done”, and is a cautionary tale of summer love and loss with a underlying, infectious groove and some brilliant swirling keyboards. This slice of pop giddiness is followed by the superb 'Please Ask for Help', which can only be described as what The Cure may sound like on Prozac. It again highlights Lerners very obvious ability as a songwriter of the bittersweet love song. Other standout tracks come in the shape of 'Patterns', a crooked and quirky ballad with inter textual references to Paul Simon and the dirty, lowdown sludge glam of 'Gotta Get it Right Now'.

Where '12 Desperate Straight Lines' gets let down however, is in its inconsistency. While the above mentioned tracks stood out, the rest of the album is less memorable and dare we say somewhat filler. Lerner is an artist who wears his heart on his sleeve and these influences are obvious on his better songs and the albums lesser songs most definitely suffer as a consequence.

So with the van fixed, the vertigo all but gone and a brand new band to tour with, Telekinesis have returned with a record that while maybe not crying out with originality, is certainly one that should brighten up a grey February day and have you thinking about summer.

'12 Desperate Straight Lines' is released the 11th of February.

Stereoboard Album Rating: 6.5/10