Highway to the Velodrome

Alcopop! Records are releasing a sampler on a mountain bike, of all formats. We can all agree that this is pretty awesome, but how are the songs? There's no point buying a bike if the music it represents is rubbish.

Fortunately, I've had a listen to the tracks that come with that swanky set of wheels, and the whole set is just as colourful as the bike itself. Here's a track-by-track look at Alcopopular 6: Highway to the Velodrome.

1. The King is Dead by Max Raptor
   A pretty sweet bassline, and the compilation instantly reveals itself to be heavier than I expected. This song doesn't sound much like a brightly-coloured bike (more like a black one with flaming tassels on either handlebar) but it's one rollicking way to kick things off. Thumbs up.


2. Tongue Surfer by Gnarwolves
   This one's kind of all over the place; the song is half-over before it's even settled on a particular tempo, and when it finally does, it opts for a sort of fist-pumping, cymbal-whacking punk-pop feel of which I'm not a big fan. Thumbs down.


3. Toucan Surf by Jaws
   Ooh, cool synths. Three tracks in and this compilation is already showing its diversity, so that's definitely a plus. Yeah, I really like this one - it reminds be a bit of that band Peace, only less baggy and a bit more intelligent. Thumbs up.


4. Cream Soda by Playlounge
   Wontoothreefor! These guys sound like This Many Boyfriends, which can only be a good thing, but I do wish the vocals were a little higher in the mix. The best bit is the nice (albeit brief) jangly breakdown that shows up around the 1:20 mark. Thumbs most of the way up.


5. Digsaw by The Wytches
   I pledged my allegiance to The Wytches in my Swn Festival blog, so it should come as no surprise that I'm into this. I still prefer them in the flesh, but this eerie little groove is still a worthy addition to any Halloween playlist (yes, I realise I'm several days late, but it's never too early to plan for next year). Thumbs up.


6. Seventeen by Night Engine
   A pulsing, stomping track, laced with squiggly synths and spider-fingered guitar playing. It's got that Franz Ferdinand disco feel going on, and the singer sounds like David Bowie - if that's not a recommendation I don't know what is. Might be my favourite so far. Thumbs way, way up.


7. Friends With Girls by The Spills
   Okay, I get how this one works: it starts off sounding sort of relaxed, and then the music gets louder and the singer gets shoutier...and 'round we go again. It is sort of infectious, though, and I do like a singer who isn't afraid to knacker the old chords. Thumbs about 75% up.


8. Wet Wet Wet Wet by Axes
   Mm, not sure about this one. It's an instrumental, and once the introductory tomfoolery is out of the way, it turns out to be based around a slightly military snare drum pattern that eventually turns into an upbeat indie rocker. That's pretty cool, but then it changes again; it's a big mess of shrill guitars and gear changes, and it's difficult to get a handle on. Thumbs out sideways.


9. Toothache by Throwing Up
   I like it. It's simple, it's got a punky chug to it that you can really nod along to, and - hey! - you can even hear what she's singing. Thumbs up.


10. Sand Smiles by Birdskulls
    The verses are all right, but on the whole this song doesn't do much for me. It sounds like the Foo Fighters and Dinosaur Jr. having a jam together, except it's not really amounting to much and J Mascis is getting kind of bored and...eh. Thumbs most of the way down.


11. Arabesque Bedouin by Radstewart
    I've heard the name Radstewart a lot lately - I think they're relatively local - but this is the first time I've met their music. I somehow had the impression that they were a noisy indie punk band with loads of fuzz and not many tunes, but this is actually really good, a quiet and measured song that's reminiscent of Pavement or Tullycraft. A nice surprise, and a hearty thumbs up.


12. Tastes Like Medicine by Menace Beach
    This one's great, a shoegazey stormer with proper go-for-it drums and haunting ladyvocals somewhere up top. Thumbs up.


13. Grim by Crushed Beaks
    Eh, not sure. It's a bit ham-fisted, although I do like the distorted, distant organ or steel drums or whatever that sound is in the chorus. Thumbs out sideways.


14. Ganger by Pet Moon
    An odd'un to end on. It starts with clinky, Phosphorescent-like percussion, swirling synths, and extremely crisp vocals that sound oddly poppy when juxtaposed with references to Satan. And then it begins to build, adding more layers of synth and a very ambient helping of canned drums. I think I like it - it ends up sounding very epic indeed - but boy, it's a sneaky one. Thumbs up.

I think the best way to judge a sampler/compilation/mixtape is to think about how many tracks you're likely to keep coming back to. There are at least four or five such songs on Alcopop's bike, and that seems pretty good to me.

Also, if this sampler is supposed to introduce people to some of the artists on the label's roster, its creators will be pleased to hear that I'm definitely interested in hearing more of Night Engine. Do they have an album out, or...?

Swn Festival 2013

The spectacular Swn Festival took over Cardiff for much of the weekend just gone, and while I didn't see as many bands as I might have liked to, I still caught a few gems that I thought would be worth sharing. So, just as I did after returning from the Knee Deep Festival, I present four of my favourite acts from Swn 2013:

The Wytches actually played at Knee Deep, too. They were on the main stage as we arrived, and while they did sound pretty great, I sadly had to go and set up camp. Still, I later managed to establish the name of the band I had heard, and I swore that, sooner or later, I would get around to having a proper listen.

And so, when I spotted that The Wytches were down to play Clwb Ifor Bach on Swn Saturday, I cleared my schedule. They were absolutely awesome, too, with meaty basslines, Halloween surfer guitar sounds (a bit like The Cramps or The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster), and a vocal style that probably isn't especially good for the singer's throat. The recordings don't do them justice; by all means listen to the song I've embedded above, but see them live if you can.

Seazoo were my last band of the festival, and not a bad one to go out on. Their music occasionally strays a little close to the nose-wrinkling tweeness I complained about in my Sweet Baboo review, but the underlying chug and Seazoo's knack for a big, Hold Steady-style guitar riff injected just the right amount of attitude to balance the sweetness. In contrast to The Wytches, they're even better on record, where you can hear all of those lovely layers properly.

I didn't see all of ESKA's set, and that's a great shame because what I did catch was something special. The lady's voice covers considerably more notes than would comfortably fit on a stave, and her all-trades talent - each of the three songs I heard was played on a different instrument - makes it hard to lose interest. Her songs are soul-cleansing things, filling your ears with a cathartic wail that's really rather astonishing. It's far from easy listening, but the loose structuring and near-religious fervour that typified those few songs made for a seriously electrifying experience. It reminded me of Josh T. Pearson a little bit, but then everything reminds me of Josh T. Pearson.

Without Feathers

My final pick is nowhere to be found on SoundCloud, and I couldn't see anything of theirs on YouTube, either, so above is a link to their EP on Bandcamp instead. Without Feathers were billed as being a bit like The Moldy Peaches, but they're far more polite than that, peddling sweet little songs and three-part harmonies that remind me of The Roches as much as anything. I liked the round they sang - you don't hear many rounds nowadays -  but my favourite songs were those on which the girl in the awesome coat did most of the singing (not sure of the name, sorry; she's in the centre of the photo below). She had a little more spunk when she was singing lead rather than backing vocals, and the slightly more punky moments contrasted well with the softer stuff.

Did you go to Swn this year? Who did you see?