The Pipers - New Music "Introducing"

Facebook / http://thepipers.bandcamp.com/

The Pipers are an indie pop band from Southampton led by Aaron Piper who will be the perfect soundtrack to welcome you to a new week, a gorgeous blend of soft, swirling melodies for the hopeless romantics amongst us.

Their sound perfectly highlighted on their latest EP, ‘Sunless Sea’, three tracks of shimmering, jangling goodness which blend lo-fi shoegaze aesthetics with dream-like vocals (you know, the sort of thing which quite often fills these pages), "Keep Me in Mind" and "Cold Winds" both sooth and comfort in equal measures, simple and beautiful throughout, unobtrusive drum machine beats and sparkling guitars give the platform for dual-vocal harmonies to delicately ease your troubles away. "Sunless Sea" on the other hand, much like it's title, uses jagged, distorted guitars to make waves of fuzzed-up aural abuse, in summary, quite a wonderful EP. Listen / download at bandcamp:




The Pipers - Cold Winds from Robin Pailler on Vimeo.

Le Sera #2 - Break My Heart

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A quick Sunday update, Katy Goodman's solo project La Sera first featured here with "Please Be My Third Eye", a delicious slice of bright and breezy surf-pop perfection, it might be horrific weather wise in London today but watching the since released (and similarly bubblegum pop) video alongside new track "Break My Heart" will surely brighten your mood, however miserable it may be outside.

"Break My Heart" is an equally wonderful blast of urgent, upbeat sun-splattered indie pop perfection, fuzzy guitar drives Katy's beautiful vocals whose bittersweet lyrics might be simple but make for an effective and catchy song that's a fine way to spend two minutes of your day.

La Sera release 'Sees The Light' on March 26th - pre-order.

Taffy - New Music "Introducing"

Facebook / taffy8.com/

I love lots of things about Japan, its culture, its fascinating history, its cinema, though I must confess, I've never really got into its music (that is if you ignore the seminal London band Japan). That could be about to change with the arrival of Tokyo's Taffy on these shores (signed by the wonderful ClubAC30)... Their UK debut "So Long" will be released 21st April on speckled 7" clear vinyl with an album to follow in May, two preview tracks can be heard below and offer a good indication to their vein of fuzzed-up power pop.

Gorgeous, ringing electric guitars match gorgeous, saccharine sweet vocals on the soaring "So Long" where the heavenly cascade of guitar melody and delicately soft vocal harmonies bring together the best elements of 90's shoegaze and sugar-coated brit-pop, energetic, infectious and definitely the soundtrack to a good time. While "M23-7-8" slows things down a little, Iris' beautiful, heart bursting vocal gently builds to a distorted climax of buzzing grunge guitars, if the sweet Taffy is as delicious as the band then can we have them in the UK too please.

Listen below:

Modern Charms - New Music "Introducing"

http://moderncharms.blogspot.com/ / moderncharms.bandcamp.com/

I can't tell you much about Modern Charms, besides their own blogger site and bandcamp I was unable to find anything on the San Francisco trio. To date they've got two tracks streaming and appear to be searching for a label to release a 12" (I know a volunteer!), both tracks are bloody wonderful, their sound a luscious combination of shoegaze, dream-pop and garage rock.

"When We Get There" takes layers of swirling fuzzed-out guitar melodies adds some heavy-hitting drums and combines them with a soft, delicate female vocal to make a blissful and dream-like concoction, "Someday" equally excels, upping the grunge notch a level, sprawling drums and punishing guitar noise awash in clouds of distortion which give the platform for the etheral vocals to graceful glide upon, another intoxicating combination of hard and soft. I don't know who they are, I don't really care, what I do want is to here some more. Stream below:

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Jodie Goffe - New Music "Introducing"

Label Website

From one incredible London based sixteen year old musician to another, a couple of days after I introduced Ellie Rumbold on these pages here's another folk songstress whose beautiful, heart-warming songs and poetic song-craft are far beyond her years, the latest discovery to have me swooning is Jodie Goffe. There's not much to go on thus far, no webpage, no facebook, no twitter just a handful of live videos and her debut six track EP 'The Day The Moon Left' (Released a few weeks ago via Smugglers Records and can be ordered for £5.00 here), it's more than enough to fall completely in love...

Watch / listen to the sample videos below and you'll understand what I mean, Jodie's blissfully understated guitar playing caresses and soothes and her gorgeous voice fills you with warmth, there is a richness to Jodie's vocals that commands your attention while her delicately plucked melodies calm the mind, sparse, relaxing and overwhelmingly beautiful. Listen to "Light of Day" below for proof. The EP contains a male backing singer who I can't identify at the moment so apologies to him. The studio version of "Searching To Be Lost" equally graceful and pretty, Jodie is sixteen years old and already writing music that will melt your heart, don't feel too bitter now!

"We Many Few" isn't on the EP but I've included it because it's 9 weeks old, has 44 views and is absolutely stunning, you don't have to share this blog post, I don't operate on blog hits but if you like this (and if you like the softer side of my music tastes you will), please share her music on your facebook / twitter. Who knows, a couple of the million people who are buying Adele records can perhaps be introduced to a grassroots singer-songwriter who hasn't got an army of marketeers behind her. Her label are a not-for-profit organisation (an increasingly common theme for independent labels, some not buy choice!) and equally worth supporting.

[thanks for the discovery must go to flying with anna]

Fountains - New Music "Introducing"

Facebook / fountainstheband.bandcamp.com/

Fountains are a new London based five piece who only played their first show a couple of weeks back and came to my attention as the support band for Evans The Deaths' forthcoming London show next week (details).

They've just released their debut release, a limited cassette produced by Rory Atwell (who's also produced countless tracks blogged here by the likes of Veronica Falls, Novella, Fear of Men etc.), entitled 'No Sleep', a three track EP which takes late 70's / early 80's new-wave / post-punk influences and compliments them with flashes of shoegaze / psychedelic brilliance much akin to recent success stories The Horrors and Toy, pointless references aside, it's a pretty impressive debut that seems thus far to have been overlooked by many...

Kicking off with the excellent title-track "No Sleep", an ominous intro of dark cavernous drums and screeching guitar introduces you to the baritone vocal of chief vocalist Jonathan (surname unknown) and his deep, edgy voice compliments the erratic drum rhythms perfectly, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere that eats away at your subconscious, all three tracks are rather doom-laden, the few signs of light come from backing vocalist Bex ethereal coo's and some shimmering guitars on the perfectly titled "Insecure" driven by rumbling bass-lines echoes it's equally impressive; desolate lyrics and repetitive riffs lead to a raw, frenetic conclusion. The best though is saved for last, the wonderful "You're Not Welcome", another extended intro, more claustrophobic vocals and more majestic guitar and drum melodies. Best of all? You can download the EP right now for FREE via bandcamp and grab a future collectors item while you're at it, one of those fifty tapes.