Dedication Versus Time Loss, Righteousness Over Friends Lost.

JOHNNY FOREIGNER.

I think it is feasible to say that I have left the best band for this 24 selection of bands till last and I am so glad they are a British band. Johnny Foreigner are cool kids from Birmingham, I think we must praise them for doing so well and being from Birmingham. I mean not a lot of good comes out of Birmingham that often; recently we’ve unfortunately had The Twang who I wish would fall into a big hole somewhere and fucking stay there. Thankfully Johnny Foreigner are NOTHING like The Twang (I thank God for this) and they are amazingly ace, quite the opposite to The Twats. None of the band are actually called Johnny, and none have the surname Foreigner – in fact the three members of Johnny Foreigner are Alexei, Junior and Esmerelda (what COOL fucking names, probably the best named band of all time?)

I fell in love with this band from the moment I heard them, the very song which did it for was ‘Our Bipolar Friends’. A slow start to the song with soft lyrics which reminds me of the lead singer Katie from Sky Larkin but then all of a sudden it “rocks the fuck out” which is how I would like to put it. I will get to see Johnny Foreigner in February along with Los Campesinos (what a night that is going to be) and to say I am excited is quite an understatement. They have just returned from America after recording their much anticipated debut album and I expect Johnny Foreigner too be one of the best new bands of 2008, I think maybe the best.

If the new album due out sometime in 2008 is anything like the EP ‘Arcs Across The City’ then we are in for a magical, magnificent and mind-blowing record. Drowned In Sound gave ‘Arcs Across The City’ 10 out of 10 (they rarely give this to anyone) and This Is Fake DIY gave it 5 out of 5, so it is critically acclaimed everywhere that matters. NME gave it 7 out of 10, but as I previously said it is critically acclaimed everywhere that matters, and on this NME does not matter, what do they know for fuck sake? They claimed back in January that The Twang would be best band of the year, how wrong were they, the fucking mugs. Johnny Foreigner are immense and I think live they will be something quite special too.

‘Sofacore’, ‘The End And Everything Aft’ and ‘Champagne Girls I Have Known’ are just a selection of brilliant songs from the EP. Every song on the EP has something different and special about it, which it what makes it just THAT good. Johnny Foreigner are the band to see of 2008, get to see them in small venues whilst you still can.

Can't Spell Magick? You're Dead.

BOLT ACTION FIVE.

Having a proper sleep is something you never really appreciate until you do night shift (sorry that I keep going on about night shift). For almost 10 days I hadn’t had a proper night sleep because sleeping during the day is just not the same. The fact that it is not dark makes it extremely difficult to sleep, along with slamming of doors, hairdryers, dogs barking, Hoover sounds etc are not exactly too pleasing when you are trying to sleep.

Bolt Action Five are an electro/pop/indie/industrial four piece from Holloway, Hackney and Stoke Newington and consist of Tobias, Dan, Ian and Mark.

BAF have been on my radar so to speak for quite a while now, a really long time actually. However I never really listened to them or made any effort to listen to them, so shame on me for doing so. I always heard bad things about them from other people but thankfully I decided to ignored them opinions and make my own opinion of them. My opinion is that they are a tight band who reminds me of a more poppy British Les Savy Fav.

They’ve recently allowed fans to download new demos, and for this I am grateful as the new stuff is sounding really good. Especially ‘Hellsmouth’ which got the repeat treatment on my ipod from my night shift. ‘Face Of The Beast’ got the same sort of treatment one night, I just couldn’t stop listening to it. There was me doing somebody else’s shopping for them having Bolt Action Five on repeat, certainly a surreal image I am sure.

I hope 2008 brings some success for Bolt Action Five, because they appear to be a band who definitely deserve it.

Your Smile Is Fake, And I Like Your Face.

PETE AND THE PIRATES.

It’s Saturday night and I am in doing my blog, it could be a lot worse I’ve decided I could be about to leave for night shift. However, I am now free of fucking work, I felt like a “fucking” was needed there because work grinds you down, right down! I don’t have to think about it work anymore, well not until I get back to University to find out there is millions of assignments due in. Millions of assignments which will TRY to get in the way of my drinking and dancing routine that I loved so much during first semester.

Onto Pete and the Pirates: they are five boys from Reading including brothers lead singer Tommy and drummer Jonny along with Peter on bass with Peter and David on guitar duties. They have a really loyal fan base in Reading, and during this years Reading festival (which was an anti-climax) they performed on the Carling Stage and I am lead to believe they went down really, really well. I did not see them (I have no idea why not) but did hear they were excellent.

Previous single ‘Knots’ got plenty of plays and reached number 8 in the NME chart which is definitely a good placing for Pete and the Pirates. One thing to make clear, none of the band are pirates however as previously stated they do have a guitarist named Pete(r). I think they should be pirates personally, that would make for an extremely entertaining live show. Imagine them turning up to Reading festival dressed up as pirates, I am thinking the Jack Sparrow type pirate rather than Captain Hook.

Could go on about the name of this band for far too long, so I won’t. Pete and the Pirates make really great pop songs (see ‘Knots’), my favourite song being ‘Come On Feet’ something I often said during this hell week of work when my feet seemed to be crumbling from beneath me. I am not sure this is how the song was written, but I would like to think so. Pete and the Pirates debut album is due out in February some time and the band head out on a UK tour starting in Bristol on the 24^th February and ending on Valentines Day (14^th of February for those who have forgot) in York. Buy the album and see the band on tour, I insist.

Why Not Bathe In A Tub Of Beans?

THE HORNBLOWER BROTHERS.

Tomorrow morning at 6am will feel like my first Christmas present as I will be free from any work for the Christmas holidays (THANK FUCK). So, three weeks in with only three bands remaining and I have certainly saved some of the best bands till last including this very blog.

The Hornblower Brothers are Nat, Al, James, Gary and Antony and despite the rumours they are not brothers. However they are very talented musicians who make brilliant pop songs that you just can’t help tapping your toes too.

Hailing from Brighton they describe themselves on MySpace as “charmingly shambolic” which I think is very apt. When I first heard them the song I listened to first was ‘Android With A Heart’ and I just kept playing repeat on my itunes. I could not stop listening to it, and even now it is a song which never gets old despite me playing it almost every day. There are other songs too, ‘The Ceiling’ and ‘Like Your Sister’ grabbed my attention immediately too. This is a band who with the right label can go places in 2008.

I can’t put my finger on any comparisons, so I won’t be able to offer you any comparisons of who they sound like, for this I am sorry. However you don’t need comparisons just listen to them and make your own mind up! I am yet to see them live, though I think 2008 will give me the chance to see them live in some capacity.

Living for music, living in a dance. Music for life, those dancing days.

THOSE DANCING DAYS.

Walking home at 6am in sub-zero temperatures IS NOT fun, despite having about 85 layers I was still freezing. When did it get so cold? I understand it is December, but I mean this morning I think the temperatures would’ve rivalled the Antarctic (seriously). I went to bed at 7am (it was pitch black) and I woke up at 4pm (it was pitch black), so at the moment I am not seeing day light, not that I particularly want to. That is when people come out and annoy me.

It was about time I mentioned a Swedish band on this blog I think and Those Dancing Days have been on my ‘radar’ for quite a while now and I have never really taken them too seriously. In fact to begin with I was never really a big fan of them, but my mind has been changed recently. I imagine if you are put in front of five girls from Sweden it would be hard not to have your mind changed! Obviously that is not the reason I decided that Those Dancing Days were worthy of a second chance in my mind. I listened to them again this week, coincidently it was walking home in freezing temperatures from work, and it really perked me up! I think it actually made me walk home (maybe even skip)!

I jest; I would NEVER skip home from work. Actually, I might skip home at 6am Saturday morning when it is all over! I am going off subject (again), Those Dancing Days released the track ‘Those Dancing Days’ quite a while ago and it never really caught my eye (what a shit cliché, surely it is ears). After re-visiting the song again this week I decided it is an absolutely super catchy pop song with charming vocals. From the sounds from the synth to the simplistic drums and poppy guitar noises this song has just about everything going for it.

Other songs such as ‘Hitten’ and ‘1000 Words’ are evidence that this band has the songs in their locker to become a popular band of 2008.

Do As I Say Do, Not As I Do. You Like Me Most When I’m Least Like You.

THEORETICAL GIRL.

Welly, welly, welly Christmas is almost upon us and I am getting right into the Christmas spirit, I decided to walk home from work to Christmas classic tunes today. It was nice walking home although it was freezing cold the Christmas songs and lights all around my town were certainly cheering me up.

This blog is inspired by a song I only heard about four of five days ago and since then I can’t stop listening to it. The song in question is ‘The Hypocrite’ by the very talented Theoretical Girl, who is a solo artist originally from Southend (poor her, Southend is a fucking disgusting place). The song is one of my favourites from the year (even though it is out next year), and is evidence of Theoretical Girl’s talents. The lyric “one rule for me, another for you” is something I feel quite strongly about, as I often get that very feeling!

On tour Theoretical Girl is backed by the band The Equations who are three stunningly beautiful girls (Steph on drums, Kelly on guitar and Linda on keyboard). With the backing of this band I think the live shows in 2008 will be really good, and I hope to get along to one, whether it is a support slot or headline one. The single launch on February 5th at White Heat stands out to me, and hopefully I will be attending.

Theoretical Girl is no one trick pony, after hearing ‘The Hypocrite’ I listened to more and ‘Red Mist’ is just as good as the forthcoming single if not better. Her cover of ‘O Holy Night’ on her MySpace is absolutely wonderful and it fills me with the most Christmas spirit ever imaginable, you should definitely go and listen to it. She puts her on spin on the song and makes it quite beautiful, a quality I am finding with all her songs. Most noteably 'The Boy I Left Behind' which is quite magical and just about sums up Theoretical Girl's ability as a song writer and musician.

2008 is the year of Theoretical Girl, and signed to Saliva/XL means she has a strong backing which should equate to great success in 2008.

Melodramatic Popular Song.

GRAMMATICS.

So, Day 18. Fuck me. That means this time next week it will be Christmas. I hope you all have got your presents ready and wrapped under the Christmas tree (ha, as if). I have all mine purchase but none are wrapped, I really HATE wrapping. I see it as one of the most pointless things, EVER. The person just rips open your hard work, and to all the people who spent lots of effort and time putting silly bows on the presents, why? Someone is just going to rip it off anyway.

Right, away from the tediousness of gift wrapping and onto Grammatics who are definitely not tedious. This foursome hails from the great city of Leeds (shame about the football team though). Leeds has brought us bands like Pigeon Detectives, Kasier Chiefs, Forward Russia amongst others in recent years. Grammatics are nothing like any of the above bands, which is definitely a good thing in my opinion. Grammatics are their own band and described by Drowned in Sound as “fucking special” I think I would go along with that too. They consist of Owen on vocals, guitar and keyboard (talented man). Not forgetting Dominic on drums, Rory on bass and Rebecca on cello.

On their MySpace they describe themselves as “complicated pop music”. Quite a nice summary of their sound – at times they appear to the ears as a pop band. Then all of a sudden the Cello kicks in and the heavy guitars roar and Owen squeal’s and they are not just any other pop band. After first hearing Grammatics, I was a little unsure. I had a discussion with a friend who said “trust me, keep listening and I guarantee you will love them”. Well, I don’t love them (yet) but I certainly have strong feelings towards them.

Newest single ‘Shadow Committee’ is wonderfully crafted from start to finish. B-side ‘Broken Wing’ shows off the band’s versatility and ability to not just be any pop band from Leeds. Grammatics could be an important band of 2008, I very much hope so.

Ipso... Facto... All The Things You Heard About A Boy

IPSO FACTO.

A had the best night sleep of my life last night, it was amazing. However tonight I will not sleep as easy because I am back on night shift (fun times – and I can look forward to it every night this week). Anyway Christmas Eve is a week today, which means it is the final week of my ‘Puzzled Advent Blog/Calendar’ thingy. This will be a quick one because I have lots to do including: getting a sleep in before my shift tonight, doing some features for somewhere else, wrapping presents, cooking my dinner and just being lazy before I become knackered at work.

Anywho – Ipso Facto I think will be one to definitely look out for in 2008, they are already making people take notice with their beautifully crafted songs and powerful live performances. Ipso Facto in Latin means “by the fact itself” which according to Wikipedia (God) means that a certain effect is a direct consequence of the action in question, instead of being brought about by a subsequent action such as the verdict of a tribunal. Whatever that means, Ipso Facto are made up of four girls: Rosalie (lead vocals and guitar), Cherish (keys and backing vocals), Victoria (drums) and Samantha (bass).

The title of this blog relates to the film About A Boy (what a brilliant Hugh Grant film it is), you know the one with the Skins boy when he was a geeky little 11 year old (oh how it changed). Anyway Ipso Facto have been pigeon holed to The Horrors ‘scene’ (there is one?) I have no idea why (erm, probably the haircuts / dress code). They sound NOTHING like The Horrors, we all know what The Horrors sound like and they are the opposite sound. I mean one band is full of girls one full of males (so there is a direct opposite with vocals), Faris screams and lead singer of Ipso Facto Rosalie has a melodic voice. Two pretty big differences I’d say so don’t look into the Horrors comparison at all. Ipso Facto are their own band and have their own sound, a sound which I very much expect to be big in 2008.

Don't Be Shy, Don't Be Bashful.

HATCHAM SOCIAL.

I have now completed 3 night shifts in a row (10 mother-fucking hour night shifts I’ll have you know). Something I realised as I was stacking cereals is how expensive cereal is! One particular box was TWO POUNDS NINETY FIVE! For 375g of cereal, what a bloody rip off. Okay, this is what working nights brings you to (getting aggressive about the price of cereal).

On to things more on topic and definitely more worth talking about: Hatcham Social. Hatcham Social are from The Island of Dr. Moreau, United Kingdom according to their MySpace. It sounds like an amazing place, and one I would like to visit, if people there look and sound like Hatcham Social then it can’t be half bad! Of course they are not from this made up town, two parts of Hatcham Social (the Kidd brothers) are from Wales and one part is from Cricklewood (drummer). They grew up around people who loved drum n’ bass and house music, but thankfully they ignored these genres of music and moved away from that crap.

Hatcham Social consist of Finnigan Kidd, Tobias Josef Kidd and Dave Javu – quite a selection of unusual yet brilliant names (well Dave isn’t very unusual, is it?) I saw them a few weeks ago at Durrr and they were quite marvellous, I thought they were better than the headline act (Cazals – and for me to say that is a big compliment as I fucking love Cazals).

‘Til The Dawn’ is a poppy Orange Juice influenced track, and is my favourite song by Hatcham Social, however ‘In My Opinion’ is another strong song that is heavily influenced by the quintessential English sound that they go for. I don’t expect Hatcham Social to be big in 2008; but I expect them to produce some brilliant songs and hopefully a wonderful debut album.

She Starts Monday, She Started In My Team.

goFASTER>>

NIGHTS. IS. KILLING. ME.
I. HATE. IT.

goFASTER>> are fun. They are a fun band from Liverpool and they have four members including Rich, Chris, Murphy and Ian. They make music which is fun (I don’t want to over use that word too much, but I can see it happening). Obvious comparisons come into my mind like Hot Club De Paris (the Liverpool sound HCDP is famous for, goFASTER>> certainly have too). Another band who shares a similar is the brilliantly wonderful Elle S’appelle who I have mentioned before on this blog and are a band I expect to make it big in 2008.

goFASTER>> write songs about Preston and Chantelle, Heather Mills and Paul McCartney, day jobs, daytime television and sexually transmitted diseases. All things I think that are important to us in some way or another (STD’s more for some than others I predict). Anyway all issues which are important to us! They don’t take themselves too serious thankfully and make music which is highly addictive.

Songs such as ‘NHS Dentist’, ‘She Starts Monday’ and ‘Magazine Addiction’ all proving that this band have great potential to write some brilliant pop songs. 2008 could be a good year for Liverpool with the return of Hot Club De Paris the emergence of Elle S’appelle and hopefully success of goFASTER>> (football wise I can’t see it being a good year for Liverpool, but that’s another matter).

I shall be attending the London leg of ‘Boss Pop Tour’ at the Barfly with Elle S’apelle and goFASTER>> on February 22^nd. You should also attend this tour if it comes to a town near you. If it doesn’t there are such things as trains, buses, cars, walking, running, planes and so forth – so no excuses not to get one of these fabulous events.

Sometimes I Am Too Shy To Talk To You

STRICKEN CITY.

Well, my first ever night shift has resulted in my hands being ripped to absolute shreds. Who would’ve thought that lifting cans of beans and jars of curry would cause so much pain? Never did I imagine how much they would make me suffer for 10 hours, but my god they did make me suffer! Oh well, only two more to go then finally a night off!

I found Stricken City the other day somehow, not sure how – I think I noticed them on the Mystery Jets poster for their London gig with Friendly Fires and Holy Hail. I then decided to listen to them – thank God (thank you) that I did listen because I certainly don’t regret listening to them one single bit. I know I also say “my favourite this” and “my favourite that” but Stricken City ARE my favourite band with a lady as a lead singer at the moment (how can I say this? Blood Red Shoes?)

Stricken City came to me as a nice surprise; I have to admit when I was typing them into Google I wasn’t expecting much (because I didn’t really like the name). Thankfully they made me forget my disliking of the name, I mean who cares about a name of a band eh? As long as the music is brilliant then who cares? And well, Stricken City certainly do make pretty fucking spectacular pop music if I say so myself. Fronted by the irresistible Rebekah Raa (what a cool name) along with Ian (guitar), Espen (bass) and Kit (drums) Stricken City could well be your new favourite band of 2008 (they might not be – obviously).

Stricken City are about beautiful melodies and simple bass lines that make you tap your toes and they make me feel nice and warm inside (which helps this time of year doesn’t it?) Song ‘Better As A Girl’ got voted in the top 10 of songs by Loud and Quiet magazine of 2007; not sure I really agree with this (so many amazing songs in 2007 plus ‘Five Metres Apart’ is better). With many people taking notice of Stricken City I expect them to come of age in 2008 (not literally, in music terms of course).

I Drink Till I'm Sick

THE ANSWERING MACHINE.

I am now back home in my lovely house with my family (which is brilliant, so far) unfortunately being home means that I have to go back to work. I am doing Thursday, Friday, Saturday night shifts (10pm till 8am – OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!) I won’t be able to upload any songs from now on as I have to use the home computer which has none of my songs on it and we don’t have wireless at home (something I am working on).

The Answering Machine are my favourite band from Manchester at the moment, I remember the first time I heard them about this time last year I immediately thought of The Strokes. However, since then I have changed my opinion of that comparison and now don’t think The Strokes comparison is quite justified when listening to them. I hate answering machines, they are a pain in the arse – our answer phone at home is so annoying, we always have stupid messages on it from banks and it is usually a computer leaving a really long message and pronouncing our names wrong.

Anyway The Answering Machine are a four-piece from Manchester, they are Martin on vocals and guitar, Patrick who plays guitar, Gemma on bass and finally Ben who thumps the drums. Newest single ‘Silent Hotels’ is a dead ringer to the Los Campesinos song ‘You! Me! Dancing!’ well the intro of ‘Silent Hotels’ and about one minute thirty seconds into ‘You! Me! Dancing!’. Despite this huge likeness it is a brilliant pop song which does borrow from Los Campesinos but ultimately is different due to the contrasting vocals of the two bands.

‘Oklahoma’ was the very first song I heard oh so long ago, and it was the song which made me want to listen more to The Answering Machine. ‘Your Home Address’ is yet another song which made me feel rather passionate about this band, I can imagine many people have heard The Answering Machine I just hope they get some success in 2008; because they really do deserve it!

Am I Good, Am I Bad, Am I Beautiful?

FLASHGUNS.

I am now officially done with University work; I finished my last assessment today at 12.30pm after doing an exam on Early Cinema and Soviet Cinema. Of course I was the first to leave the exam, I’d quite frankly written as much as I wanted to say about the topic (how much can you say about Early Cinema for fuck sake?) So, anyway I am going home in about 5 hours, which I really can’t wait for, although I start back at good old Sainsbury’s again tomorrow (ohh the memories, ohh the fun, ohh the laughter).

Anyways, I discovered Flashguns through a combination of them adding me to MySpace and reading Jamila’s wonderful blog (FUCKING DANCE). They are a quartet from London (via Brighton) and they consist of Sam, Giles, Olly and Ollie. Obvious influences include The Maccabees, The Smiths and Interpol, and when listening to Flashguns these influences are definitely apparent in their music. ‘Locarno’ is quite wonderfully poppy and it is a song which you just can’t get out of your head after a few listens.

My favourite song is ‘Good Witch/Bad Witch’ which resembles a Bombay Bicycle Club sound, although with a different twist (a twist a very much like and prefer to BBC – although BBC are excellent too). Flashguns write chaotic dark songs, and despite still being at boarding school they sound as tight as The Horror’s jeans.

Flashguns could well have a very good year in 2008, they may not but I am pretty sure at some point in the future this band will emerge and you will love them.

Flashguns – Locarno

Flashguns – Good Witch/Bad Witch

Keepsakes.

SKY LARKIN.

Really I should be revising for my Film Studies exam on Wednesday; however I am rubbish at revising and find revising at the last minute (aka 20 minutes before my exam) is always best. I don’t actually think that, it’s just what usually happens from my past experiences of exams (and I’ve done a fucking lot of them unfortunately). Anyway back to the blog and day 10 is a band who are really, really good (honest, I love them).

Sky Larkin consist of lead singer Katie who also plays guitars and keyboard, Nestor who thumps the drums and last but not least Douglas who pounds notes from the bass. They are currently un-signed (not for long I don’t think) and they are from Leeds (via Glasgow and London). They make delightful pop music which you can dance your little socks off too.

Think Long Blondes, minus two members (preferably the two girls who appear not to do much in the band) and then you ALMOST have Sky Larkin. I say almost because to me Sky Larkin are slightly different and from what I’ve heard/seen so far slightly better too, certainly live. Obviously there is a slightly difference in sound too because of the lovely keyboard noises Sky Larkin make but also the difference in accents from Katie Larkin and Kate Long Blonde, I’m more of a fan of the first Kat(i)e.

Anyways, they are one of my favourite bands from 2007 and want them to succeed in 2008! I think they will, they have the songs to do so along with really good live shows in their locker. I’d recommend listening to ‘1 of 2’, ‘Somersault’ and previous single ‘Molten’ if you’ve never listened to Sky Larkin but other tracks such as ‘Young Lungs’, ‘Keepsakes’ and ‘Delivery’ are equally as good if not better! Backing up my previous statement about them having the songs, they have great songs in abundance.

Sky Larkin – Delivery

Sky Larkin - Somersault

Let's Kiss Like We Use To

WHITE LIES.

Unfortunately, this blog is only going to be a short one. This is due to my pounding headache, hung over feeling and also because I am going to Transparent in a few hours.

White Lies are a five-piece from London who are yet to make their live debut, however you might recognise the voice from somewhere if you listen to their myspace. I’m guessing that you’ve realised it is the lead singer from Fear of Flying, if not then I have just informed you. I always thought on record Fear of Flying were really good and the two singles ‘Routemaster’ and ‘Three’s A Crowd’ were strong releases.

However, when I saw them live supporting The Maccabees and also when supporting Jamie T there was something missing from their live shows. They didn’t really cut the mustard live as the saying goes. I am more excited about White Lies, just from their one song and I expect a lot more better things to come from them.

‘Unfinished Business’ at times throughout the song reminds me of Interpol, but not as sinister or dark as Interpol. The song is packed with quivering guitars, sharp lyrics and the organ opening is something quite spectacular.

Hopefully we will get a lot more from White Lies in the New Year, fingers crossed!

White Lies - Unfinished Business

Planets Over Planets, Slowly Dancing With The Sun

EMMY THE GREAT.

A cold, cold horrible rainy Saturday afternoon would usual equate to a gloomy and depressed feeling inside. However, I feel quite happy this I think this is due to the ridiculous amounts of The Shins I have been listening to this morning. Now, Emmy the Great has perked me up quite a great deal, so much so I decided to do my next blog on her.

Emmy the Great (full name Emma-Lee Moss) is a singer-songwriter from London via Hong-Kong. She writes beautiful folk-pop songs with clever lyrics and is probably my favourite female solo artist of the year. This year has seen the emergence of Kate Nash as the biggest British solo female artist (thanks to that fucking mind numbing song, you know the one). I was never a fan of Kate Nash (admittedly I liked Caroline’s a Victim) and didn’t think much of her album, I just don’t get her and her voice. However Emmy the Great is well… great. Completely opposite to the style and sound of Kate Nash (and in my opinion twice the singer-songwriter Kate Nash will ever be).

2008 looks like it could be another year of emerging female artists from these shores (Laura Marling and Adele come to mind). I just hope that Emmy the Great gets the recognition she rightfully deserves, however I think she will be over shadowed by the two previous female artists. However, hopefully Emmy the Great will prevail and get the fame she definitely deserves.

As previous mentioned her songs are simply perfectly beautiful, ‘Atoms’, ‘Paper Trails’ and ‘Secret Circus’ are just several examples. Although, my favourite song is ‘Canopies and Grapes’ which does seem to be everybody else’s too. Emmy the Great is exactly what the name suggests, and I’m expecting more from her in 2008.

Emmy the Great – Atoms

Emmy the Great – Canopies and Grapes

I Won't Lie To You, I Can't See If Things Are Getting Any Better

LET’S WRESTLE!

LET’S FUCKING WRESTLE!

Day mother-fucking-seven! Oh yes, a whole week so far and I think I’m doing pretty well (considering I never thought I’d post every day with my lazy work ethic at University). I actually have done all my University work a week before the deadlines (wow, oh my god, unbelievable etc). So now I look forward to a weekend which starts tomorrow night with Black Kids at Push and ends with Black Kids (and more importantly Roast Dinner) at Transparent.

The seventh blog is about Let’s Wrestle who I discovered a few backs, downloaded a few demos (like you do) but actually did not get round to listening to them (shame on me). However, the last few days they’ve been doing the rounds on my itunes so decided they deserved a place on my blog type advent calendar type thingy.

Let’s Wrestle are a three-piece, and they are WPG (wtf?) on lead vocals and guitar accompanied by Mike on bass and finally Louis banging the drums and they are from London. They don’t appear to take them selves too seriously; however they’ve managed to make pretty good songs even if about some of the strangest subjects (i.e. ‘I Wish I Was In Husker Du’ and ‘Song For Abba Tribute Record’). “This is the death of an indie-pop; I wish I was in Husker Du” a line which stands out in ‘I Wish I Was In Husker Du’.

However, the new single ‘I Won’t Lie To You’ is a great love song and a song which really reminds me of The Cribs (especially the vocals). However my favourite song has to be ‘Lets Wrestle’ which is obviously about Wrestling (ohh the memories), though a piss take on Wrestling; I am not ashamed to admit I loved it at one point in my life, then I realised how immature and homosexual (I am not homophobic) it actually was.

At times they sometimes remind me of Art Brut (particularly with the tone of the songs). So think of a mix of The Cribs and Art Brut and you have yourself Let’s Wrestle.

Let’s Wrestle – ‘I Won’t Lie To You’

Let’s Wrestle – ‘Lets Wrestle’

Come Back To My House.

VIDEO NASTIES.

Bloody hell, day 6 of this thing already! Christmas certainly is creeping up on us very quickly. This means old St. Nicholas will be dusting down his trusty sleigh and all that jazz – yeah like I believe in him. Anyways this post will revolve around a band I am still yet to see despite my love for them growing stronger and stronger as the year has passed.

Video Nasties are probably the best unsigned band around, (along with The Futureheads – however the circumstances are obviously different). I realised the other day I had them tagged on my itunes as ‘The Video Nasties’ when I think it is in fact just ‘Video Nasties’ as seen on the Karl Blau EP (which by the way you should all buy; because it is sheer brilliance). The new EP is my favourite thing they’ve released thus far, and considering how highly I rated the ‘I Wanna’/‘The 3 New Ideas’ single says a lot!

Demos including Riot Gear, Accessory (my favourite Nasties song), Plus One and The Heartaches show us just how potential these boys have! Supporting Kaiser Chiefs the Tuesday just gone at Birmingham NIA definitely says a lot about the confidence of the band! I expect them to get big (I just hope not as big as that though!)

I can imagine live (especially in London) crowds go wild for them (in a similar way Good Shoes blew up in London more than other city). I didn’t want to mention Good Shoes really, because I have read a lot of people compare Video Nasties to Good Shoes; although I think this is a poor comparison as in my opinion they have different sounds. You can make your own mind up on that however. Talking of live, as mentioned previous I am yet to see them live (grrr) despite trying not once, but twice! The first time I was sick in Tottenham Court Road tube station onto a McDonalds bag (I tried so hard to get it into the bag). Despite this I recovered and made it to Astoria 2 as it is now called – however bouncers prevailed yet again (claiming my girlfriend was on drugs so they wouldn’t let her enter) so we didn’t see them. The second time was no fault of anyone really, I’d planned to see them at the Barfly with Jakobinarina but of course they cancelled that tour (which I was gutted about as it had Johnny Foreigner too).

Once upon a time I didn’t like Video Nasties (my god, what an idiot). I am not sure what I was thinking in that period. However, thankfully I saw the errors of my ways and realised that I loved them, lots. The only thing I regret so far from being in London is not seeing them live, but I expect to see them lots in 2008 – and I expect more people to hear more of them in 2008 too!

Video Nasties – Accessory

Video Nasties - Riot Gear

Beef Jerky Has An After Taste!

OPERATOR PLEASE!

Okay, so this post is a little late (well very late, this is due to me watching rubbish programmes on channel 4 about billionaire’s, also football manager distracted me, yet again) so anyway I apologise if this seems rushed or whatever, it probably is.

This blog as you can tell from the title is all about Operator Please, them Australian little gems. If you’ve not heard of them yet I think it is about time you get listening to them. They are definitely for fans of Be Your Own Pet (and of course people who don’t like BYOP too – idiots). At times I’d describe them as more pop than BYOP are, and the albums of the two are very different in vocal and genre really. BYOP is a fast packed album full of snappy pop-punk songs with vocals which scream “GO FUCKING MENTAL” at you. On the other hand the Operator Please album is a lot more poppy and it makes me want to dance around like an idiot (only if I’m drunk).

I got the chance to see them at Reading, I’d never seen them before and in fact I only knew one song (yes that one about Ping Pong). However, every other song sounded just as good as that one and I was fascinated by the Violin player and by the fresh faced of them all. I wanted more from them, for some reason or another I never got another chance until Push last Saturday and they were on top form yet again. I don’t remember much from their set if I’m honest (this is what happens when you drink lots, although I recommend it). However, one thing I do remember is giving the lovely drummer who looks about 12 (he probably is) a peg (I know that sounds odd, but a man was giving pegs out in Astoria 2).

So right yeah, a few basics about the band: they are from Australia, they have an album called Yes Yes Vindictive which is currently out in Oz. However, I am not sure of the release of it here but I am sure most of you have it anyway (illegally or legally). They are a five-piece consisting of vocalist and guitarist Amanda, drummer Tim, Sarah on keyboards, bass player Ashley and finally the great Violinist Taylor. Some of my favourite songs from the album include ‘Leave It Alone’, ‘Cringe’, 'Just For My Seconds' and ‘Ghost’ however the album is packed full of little gems (I like this term for this band). You should definitely make time from your life to get involved with this band some way.

Operator Please – Leave It Alone

Operator Please – Zero Zero

Rocks and Daggers

NOAH AND THE WHALE.

Right, personally I prefer Noah and the Whale however I’ve seen Noah & the Whale and it really bugs me when songs by them are tagged as Noah & the Whale. ANWAY, its day four of my lovely advent calendar of music; this means only three weeks until Christmas! I am so excited about Christmas (probably the most I have been since I was a small child and got the Action Man Scuba Diving Set along with a Lego Castle)!

Right, back to the topic of Noah and the Whale, they are currently impressing music fans across the country on tour, of course not all music fans because some people like shit music and won’t go see Noah and the Whale. However, all the cool people will see Noah and the Whale on tour and they are the people who really matter. I believe there is only two dates left (Oxford and London) so if you are able to get along, I would HIGHLY recommend it. Noah and the Whale have been in my earphones for quite some time now, I first fell in love with them when I heard ‘5 Years Time’ which if you haven’t heard is probably one of the best summer songs I have heard, despite its release after summer (released on the great Young & Lost).

They certainly are no one trick pony though, ‘Rocks and Daggers’, ‘Jocasta’ and ‘Beating’ provide us with absolutely amazing songs. I would describe Noah and the Whale as folk indie music; their songs are soft in sense of vocals and music. Often a female’s voice can be heard in songs (I believe it is the highly talented Laura Marling) she compliments the songs wonderfully especially in ‘Beating’.

Noah and the Whale are tipped for big things in 2008; and any band which includes xylophones in their music deserves success!

Noah and the Whale – Rocks and Daggers

Noah and the Whale - Jocasta

Believe Your Own Hype. Always.

ELLE MILANO.

Elle Milano is (now) three-piece from Brighton and they make music which can be described as art-rock. Heavy guitars and screaming vocals are what Elle Milano is about. Don’t be worried by the screaming vocals, I don’t mean screaming as in Gallows. Just a scream now and again, I’ve heard that horrible genre given to Elle Milano beginning with an E. Emo. Yes. I can’t see the emo in Elle Milano (I can see Help She Can’t Swim, but they aren’t emo) but then again I am not emo so perhaps I don’t know what emo actually is.

Anyway that’s quite enough of emo’s, focus back onto the brilliant Elle Milano. Once upon a time they were four-piece, however they lost guitarist Alex and are now just a three-piece however I understand they are looking for a new guitar player. The Elle Milano catalogue is absolutely massive however live they don’t play certain songs anymore, for reasons only they know. Previous songs such as ‘Ringtone Advertising Director’, ‘Melanie You’re Melting’ and ‘Private Thoughts’ that don’t appear on the live shows showed so much promise from Elle Milano when I first heard of them. They went extremely quiet for so long (due to University) but did release the magnificent ‘Swearing’s For Art Students’ which contained ‘Men Are Bastards’, ‘Believe Your Own Hype. Always’, ‘Amphetamine Skyrocket’ and ‘Swearing’s For Art Students’. This EP showed so much potential and got me so excited about them that I couldn’t contain myself.

18 months later everyone was wondering what was happening, then the announcement of a new single made me enthusiastic once again. ‘My Brother, The Astronaut’ is much like the ‘Swearing’s For Art Students’ EP, it contains that snarl and sarcastic tone of voice and heavy riffs. It made me thrilled about this band (again) and new demos such as ‘Carousels’, ‘Stepkids in Love’ and ‘Curiosity Killed the Pop Star’ provide me with excitement about the future of this band. With an album expected in the New Year (January 2008 has been touted as the date) I think 2008 will be a BIG year for Elle Milano.

Elle Milano – Carousels

Elle Milano – Curiosity Killed the Pop Star

Operator! Get Me The President Of The World! This Is An Emergency!

TOKYO POLICE CLUB.

Right, so it’s the second day of my proverbial advent calendar. I know typically you open your little window in the morning however I was still in bed due to a massive hangover thanks to Push last night.

Okay, what’s better than peeling back the window on your calendar and discovering a chocolate shaped candy cane? I can think of one thing at least: discovering a new band that you fall in love with instantly. This is the feeling I had when I first came across Tokyo Police Club about a year ago, therefore this feature on them comes a bit late I guess. However, the famous old cliché is better late than never.

Tokyo Police Club consists of Dave Monks, Josh Hook, Graham Wright and Greg Alsop. They are described as art-rock, Tokyo Police Club hail from Canada and have been dubbed as the “Canadian Cribs” along with many comparisons with The Strokes. Both comparisons valid however I think Tokyo Police Club differ to both bands and have their own unique style. The use of catchy striking guitar riffs, wonderful keyboard noises added with Dave Monks interesting use of vocals Tokyo Police Club are one of my favourite bands of 2007, and a band I expect to fulfil their potential with an amazing album in 2008. The album is being recorded as I type this blog, after two successful EP’s (A Lesson in Crime and Smith EP) along with a great single ‘Your English Is Good’. I expect big things from the album; I just hope they don’t ruin previous songs which a lot of bands have a tendency to do.

I have yet to see them live after missing their set at Reading; however I’m told the live shows are tight and explosive. Tokyo Police Club are a band I hope will accomplish many great things in the next 12 months.

Tokyo Police Club – Box

Tokyo Police Club – Your English Is Good

Things Sound Better Louder

The above statement is something I truly believe in.

Throughout December I am going to be posting everyday running up to Christmas Day (with obviously no post on Christmas Day, as I’ll be filling my face with Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes and nut roast, ha). I’ll be promoting bands that I am very much enjoying at the moment. You could say it’s an online advent calendar in the medium of music/bands!

The first instalment of this wonderful idea comes from a band that goes by the name of Damn Shames. They consist of Matthew (Vocals and Guitars), Simon (Vocals and Guitars) and Jacob (Bass) and come from Edinburgh. My first listen of them was only yesterday morning, but they have been on repeat since that very moment.

They have just recently signed to Abeano (Part of the impressive XL), they release new single Fear of Assault on 3rd of December! Apart from what I have mentioned I know very little about them! Not that it matters a great deal, as I’ve heard enough from only three songs to be very excited about. New single Fear of Assault is about being scared of chavs on buses, apparently and it’s a noisy post-punk track that you just can’t help playing over and over and over (you get the picture). However, the b-side Last Things is my preferred track, bursting with brilliant lyrics and catchy guitar riffs. It’s currently my favourite song and most listened to of the past day, so it comes highly recommended from me!

Expect more tomorrow from me (depending on hung over I am from Push tonight)!

Damn Shames – Last Things

Damn Shames - Dancing in the Aisles