Pins #5 - Acoustic

Facebook / wearepins.co.uk

I'm off to see PINS for the third and fourth times in less than a month tonight and tomorrow, they'll join a very small number of bands who I've shown such devotion and seen so many times in quick succession, in fact I can only think of Apartment, Editors, Prince and The Joy Formidable before them. For me at least, it's a rapid rise of popularity for the Manchester quartet, who will hopefully follow up the promise of the earlier electric live shows which have fully hooked me in, 2013 promises to put the band even more in the spotlight with hopefully a debut full-length to follow amongst more and more live dates.

Rather than discuss my diary plans, this blog is to share two acoustic (well semi-acoustic) tracks by the girls, the first time I've seen them strip back some of the distorted energy that bears so much weight to their tracks, "Shoot You" is a track most of you will be familiar with, here the switch to half acoustic guitars and lack of throbbing bass lines removes some of the rawness and instread puts the emphasis on the dominating lead vocals which here, backed by gorgeous ethereal harmonies, past paced beats and chiming chords stand out just strong. New track "To You" maintains the dark, controlled aggression which Pins have established as their own with Faith Holgate's primal vocals unnerving around a galloping attack of relentless drums and percussion.

Sparing instrumentation can be just as intense and atmospheric in the hands of Pins it seems. See my twitter for more gushing praise tonight no doubt!

Mt. Wolf - Life Sized Ghosts

Facebook /  mtwolf.co.uk

The sheer volume of blogs posting music means there is a natural competitive spirit amongst writers (not that I call myself a writer, this is a hobby) to be 'first' to post something, I try and avoid such trivialities and keep this blog as simply a journal of the music that I like, hence the rather simplistic title of the blog and the few un-written rules of posting, which is basically post what I like, when I like it.

It's that which brings me to Mt. Wolf, an act I've been aware of for probably six months but haven't written about yet, they're currently flying high in the hype machine chart (though I'm not quite sure it carries the weight it did pre-spotify - a service I still can't bring myself to use) and have amassed some 40,000 plays with the beautiful song I'm writing about today. It's a strange one, in 'buzz blogging' terms that makes Mt. Wolf old hat (Faded Glamour wrote about a demo of the song in February) but in reality the band are very much still in their infancy, with their debut EP Life Size Ghosts released on 12" vinyl via Two Sisters Records and their debut video just released (a perfect compliment it is too, check it out below).

"Life Size Ghosts" transcends beauty almost from the second it starts, flooring you with its dreamlike beauty, the haunting vocals of Kate Sproule are spine-tingling while perfectly punctuated electronic arrangements bring subtle, well thought out atmospherics throughout, the glacial beats and fluttering guitars simply defy beauty. Edging away from the ethereal melancholia is "Cry Wolf", powerful and upbeat with edgier nuances and dramatic beats on an EP of icy night-pop which blends electronica and dub with folk and hints of classical, overall Life Size Ghosts is heavenly dark, perfectly produced and just wonderful.

Binoculers - New Music "Introducing"

Facebook / binoculers.bandcamp.com

Binoculers is Nadja Rüdebusch from Hamburg who today releases her second album There Is Not Enough Space In The Dark, I've not had chance to fully digest the fifteen track album yet, so I'm going to concentrate on the two tracks which have been made available to sample for free via her label Insular Music, with an LP/CD to follow the stream available on her bandcamp page.

Both weave potent spells with simple compositions, mainly delicate acoustic guitar and subtle atmospherics with Nadja's soft, sweetly hushed vocals and her lyrics, introvert and full of imagery, "Monsters" is a dark lullaby with equally tender male co-vocals, gentle drums and twinkling keys while "The Place You Come From" similarly enchants with deliberate, pored-over word craft, both haunting and infinitely pretty, let Binoculers bring some warmth to your day below.

Weird Menace - New Music "Introducing"

I don't know too much about Weird Menace (not even a picture) other than they've played a few gigs around London town and appear to have a member of La La Vasquez in their line-up (I read that on the Internet with no supporting evidence so I won't vouch for it), they've got three tracks on a soundcloud page which are great and that is what I care about, the music...

With wistful female harmonies and distorion pedals a-plenty it's safe to say Weird Menace's noisy guitar fuzz get me in all the right places with their scuzzy deliciousness and thunderous rhythms, take the track of the same name for a perfect example, energetic and raw, slamming drums, heavy riffage and soft harmonies. "Beyond Belief" takes a similar formula but hits even harder, instant infatuation.

Here's hoping some information, online presence, shows etc come soon...

Emily and The Woods #4 - Small Song

Facebook / emilyandthewoods.com

It's all been a bit quiet on the Emily and the Woods front this year, aside from the odd gig in London and a tour with Newton Faulkner earlier in Spring it seems Emily has been happy to spend 2012 writing and recording new material. Fingers crossed it's a sign of things to come next year, with an album release and some tours across Europe 2013 could be the year Emily makes the cross-over to universal acclaim...

Her "silence" ended this week with the release of a new track for us to share and download for free (which you can do below), "Small Song" is exactly that, a short but eternally sweet track in which intricate guitar circles and Emily's melt-your-heart vocals combine to fill you in an air of calmness and beauty that's sure to make your day that little bit better.

Download below and see you on my tips for 2013 list, Emily!

Caviare Days - The Awakening

Facebook / caviaredays.com

It's Friday, a week to pass over for me after spending most of it with a bad head (and not a self-inflicted one at that), three hours at the dentist yesterday summed it up nicely. Anyway, you're not here to read about me, thankfully, the music keeps coming at me quicker than I can keep up and I have my inbox to find for this latest blog post...

A band that, if picked up by the right people (that doesn't really include me unfortunately!), could be primed for success next year are Swedish sisters Lina and Maja Westin who lead the psychedelic folk-rock group Caviare Days, they appear to have been around in their native country for a while now with the video to the title-track from their UK debut EP The Awakening (released November 26th) dating back a year or so, nevertheless I can't help but be pulled in by the combination of slightly sinister late 60's psychedelia and alluring vocals...

The title-track "The Awakening" is arguably the finest track, with dark, powerful vocals swamped in foggy guitar spirals and percussive beats, its powerful verse swirls into a chorus filled with emotion and melody, the airy and tense atmosphere continues on "You'll Qualify", a rush of raw,energetic garage rock, its accompanying video of the girls dancing laden in 60's clothes amongst psychedelic patterns a perfect summation of the EP's sound.

While "When the Light is Breaking" is another highlight, it brings a slightly different sound to the table, with the sisters almost Abba-esque vocals harmonies swirling around repetitive bass and percussive shakes which gradually builds with nostalgic guitars to a crescendo of exuberant joy, rock 'n' roll isn't dead just yet.