Beautiful Strange Presents: Big Wave 'Only You':

A quick plug, arguably the best line-up I've ever put together if I don't say so myself! Details below. It would be great to see you there...



BEAUTIFUL STRANGE PRESENTS:

SUNDAY 28TH OCTOBER at The Buffalo Bar, Islington

BIG WAVE 'ONLY YOU' SINGLE LAUNCH FT:

BIG WAVE + HELLA BETTER DANCER + THE TUTS + YOUNG ROMANCE

Doors: 19.30. Advance Tickets £5 via wegottickets: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/188386

Beautiful Strange is delighted to host the single launch party for the debut vinyl release by Torquay five piece Big Wave, 'Only You'. With all fingers crossed they'll be advanced copies of the single on sale on the night (official release date is November 5th) and they'll be give-aways throughout. The first 20 people through the doors on the night will receive a goody bag with a selection of nice things, vinyl, tapes, badges and more.

BIG WAVE - https://www.facebook.com/wearebigwaveband / http://wearebigwave.com/
"I stumbled across Big Wave at the Buffalo Bar. They were on a bill with Tender Trap and their jangle surf tinged pop was a like a blast of a fresh sea breeze... Big Wave have a sound that crosses a hinterland that has indiepop flirting with the poppy moments of dreampop. Their sound is reminiscent of the finest Swede pop (think Sambassadeur or The Radio Dept. at their most pop). You're all gonna love this band". Trev at Oddbox Records



HELLA BETTER DANCER - https://www.facebook.com/hellabetterdancer 

”..the HBD kids are getting ready to take London, Great Britain and the Universe by storm. With some serene and affecting melodies entwined with crisp riffs & beats and all taking place in a sparse, echo filled expanse..”- Matt Simmonds, SGTMT



THE TUTS - https://www.facebook.com/thetuts

"Part of an ongoing girl-band renaissance that takes in everything from the dark post-punk of Savages and Zoëtrøpe to the lo-fi sounds of Woolf and Skinny Girl Diet, The Tuts instead take a refreshingly punked-up pop approach, citing their inspirations as everyone from The Beatles to Bikini Kill, and wielding enough classic-indie influences to make them serious contenders for mainstream appeal should word continue to spread. The icing on the cake? They deliver a guitar-girl-gang pop sass the country hasn’t seen since Kenickie or Shop Assistants." The Girls Are



YOUNG ROMANCE - https://www.facebook.com/YoungRomanceMusic

"A wonderful noisy pop duo - Paolo and Claire are Young Romance. They write about love and doubt and dislocation, wrapping up their words in a layer of fuzz and distortion. They are inseparable. They live together, write together, finish each other’s sentences and second-guess what the other’s going to say next. Sweet, charming, funny, and entirely self contained, they can bicker and joke with each other for hours on end, splendidly isolated as the world rushes on all about them"



Facebook Event // Beautiful Strange on Tumblr // Beautiful Strange on Facebook

Venue: The Buffalo Bar, 259 Upper Street, Islington, London, N1 (just outside Highbury & Islington tube station). Map.

SeaWitches #2 - Space Gun

Facebook

After I came back from The Lexington about a month ago I wrote on my twitter feed something along the lines of 'I've found a band to follow..' and attached the picture used at the header of this blog post. By follow I don't mean to just like, I mean a band to be obsessive about, then tell all your friends (and in my case blog about too) then follow their every development. The band in question are SeaWitches, a band I'd already covered in my usual over-the-top superlatives back in June (then basis on two fantastic demo tracks).

The live show (their first in London) was a perfect vindication and left me and my friends suitably impressed, alongside a stellar line-up of The Hall of Mirrors, Dark Bells (who I posted about yesterday) and We Walk on Ice it was the Liverpool trio who probably impressed us the most. Their dark psychedelia was brimming with this slightly tense, troubling atmosphere, distorted guitar twangs and unsettling vocals, a half hour set flew by and let me wanting more, hopefully just that will follow soon (by that I mean a trip back to the Capital).

To keep me chomping at the bit, SeaWitches have uploaded a new demo to engross myself in and that's just what you should do too, the track "Space Gun" is eight and a half minutes long and almost made up of two parts (please listen to it as a whole) and I'm not just say this, it will literally blow your mind, easily one of the best demos I've heard in forever. It is that good.

Starting with deep, hypnotic bass, hollow drums and swirling guitars the addictive, rocking groove gradually quickens in pace as the song progresses and it takes until a small bridge and bass lead for Jo's vocals to actually start at around the mid point of the song. The captivating, theatrical nature of her vocals is bound to lead to Siouxsie comparisons being made (for it seems everything has to be compared to something else for some reason), I'd rather call it SeaWitches, for this dramatic, slightly disturbing take on pysche-pop is a sound very much their own.

I hope a few more of you will be joining me for the journey.

Dark Bells - New Music "Introducing"

Facebook

Dark Bells are a band I had planned to post about four or five months ago but just as I had a post almost ready their demos / tracks disappeared from their bandcamp.  I wasn't 100% sure what to make of it, I think it was a simple case of the band taking down some old material in preparation for new releases follow, which it now has, hence my overdue posting...

Dark Bells aren't really a new band either, primarily made up of vocalist/guitarist Teneil Throssell and bassist Ash Moss who moved to London from Sydney last year, the trio are completed by Luke Richardson on drums.

Yet to officially release anything (I think), "Want" (taken from a 'forthcoming' unannounced EP) changes that for the better and is sure to propel the band to the attention of many non-London folk who haven't already been transfixed by the ferocious roar of their live show. For one thing is for certain (and I've seen them twice now), if you see Dark Bells live, you're going to count yourself amongst their fans.

A band with a perfect balance of power and beauty, huge bass-lines and aggressive beats merge with intense vocals and chiming guitars and distortion, at almost six minutes in length "Want" transfers itself well to record from the live version I can recall from their recent Lexington show. With an ear bleeding howl of swirling guitar, throbbing bass and doom laden drums the infectious "Want" instantly penetrates your mind with frenetic vocals and huge, electric sounds, then it slows down with tropical rhythm patterns in a middle, instrumental sections which lulls you into a false sense of security before a deafening finale. Simply incredible.

I've also included a live Youtube version of one of the tracks which was removed from the bands site (presumably for a future release - hopefully anyway), the incredible "Wildflower", an equally incredible whirlwind of epic-sized, wall of sound. Do yourself a favour and listen below.

Deaf Club #4 - Break It Slow

Facebook / deafclubmusic.co.uk/

Great music and free, pretty much the expectation for many in 2012 (for right and wrong reasons). Well cheapskates, you won't be disappointed by the latest, cost you nothing, release by the wonderful Deaf Club (click on the 'buy' button to be taken to a dropbox link from which you can download the track).

"Break it Slow" continues the bands exemplary knack of combining darkly mystical atmospheres with spacious, swirling melodies. Cavernous drums and intricate guitar chimes weave around Polly's brooding vocals, restrained and beautiful, with "Break it Slow" Deaf Club have produced their most gorgeous track yet.

The band head out on a full UK tour over the next month - full dates - the most exciting for me comes slightly prior to that, with a date at London's Sebright Arms with the ever exceptional Hella Better Dancer on October 19th - details.

Big Wave #4 - Only You

Facebook / wearebigwave.com/

It's not the first time it's happened but about ten months ago now I posted an "Introducing" blog on a new band from Devon called Big Wave whom I'd not heard more than a couple of songs by at the time and then after falling in love with the band music with their following releases, I find myself about to release their next single via Beautiful Strange with a single launch gig to follow.

I'll avoid my usual superlatives, it feels a bit wrong to praise something close to home, I'll let (hopefully) other sites do that (they should because it is fucking awesome) and instead just give you something new to listen to and enjoy (and then tell your friends about)...

Beautiful Strange is delighted to announce its next release will be the debut vinyl release by Torquay five-piece Big Wave, ‘Only You’ is due for release on Monday November 5th 2012 with another new track "Living Room" on the flip side. The wonderful artwork is by Niamh Tulley.

Limited to 500 copies on ‘beer’ coloured vinyl (with digital download) the single is available to pre-order now via Beautiful Strange Bandcamp: http://beautifulstrange.bandcamp.com/ or Big Cartel http://beautifulstrange.bigcartel.com/. and will also be stocked in various UK/Euro retailers too.

They'll also be a single launch party at London’s Buffalo Bar on Sunday 28th October headlined by the band with special guests tba. They’ll also be some special give-aways too. Head over to the facebook event page for more details.

Watch the video /stream "Only You" below:

September Girls #4 - Danny Wood

Facebook / septembergirls.tumblr.com/

I'm guessing the general mood today is very 50/50, a bunch of people in the office will be as high as a kite after watching Europe win the Ryder Cup last night and the other half won't give a shit (vice-versa if you're reading this in the States) and are miserable because it's grey, wet and October. I fit in the later, it's currently 1am and I can't sleep so I'm doing what I normally do on such occasions, listening to music. To mark the exit of September I picked September Girls (yeah, I know) and as since I last mentioned their excellent new single "Green Eyed", it has been dated for release (22nd October - Pre-order via Soft Power now) and its B-Side "Danny Wood" made available to stream, I think it's a perfect chance for a revisit.

"Danny Wood" is going to get stuck in your head, I make no apologies for that, I hope that when you find yourself singing the choruses repeated refrain you are at least smiling, you should be, propelled by swirling keys, skittish drums and jagged, reverb-filled guitar the Girls' melodious fuzz-pop is here to make a shitty day better.

September Girls have announced a new London show for Friday 12th October at a new venue to me, Tipsy in Dalston with support by the great Fever Dream. I can't make that as I'm in Manchester where I might just happen to be see the girls with PINS the very next day - full dates.