Single Review- Marina and The Diamonds - Obsessions

Welsh or Greek. Whatever her origins, Marina and the Diamonds is the latest in a host of female fronted Indie outfits that are fearlessly infiltrating the alternative music scene and being greeted with much excitement.

Marina, the one-woman band, could have been the implausible love child of Florence Welsh and Kate Bush with her intoxicating vocal prowess and eccentric musical structure.

Obsessions, her debut single, is a three minute ode to the intensity of being in love with someone who is as temperamental as they are bad for you. Lyrics like /Wont you quit your crying I can’t sleep/ one minute I’m little sweetheart and next minute you are an absolute creep/ make lyrical comparisons to the likes of Kate Nash unavoidable as her “realness” makes her similarly endearing.

With her hopes already set on America and MTV Awards, the 23 year old is refreshingly open about her ambitions and determination. This self belief teamed with the topicality and relevance that Marina exudes, means that as with her label mates, Passion Pit, 2009 looks set to be an exciting year for our new favourite female songstress.

Album Review - Boy Least Likely To - The Law of the Playground

/I sit around in my pyjamas/ Eating pear drops and stringing up conkers/ And if I want to feel something I stick pencils up my nose/ I just want to change the world in whatever little way that I can/ With lyrics like this, The Boy Least Likely To seem to be the men most likely to melt the hearts of Indie scenesters all over the country, with their second album release entitled ‘The Law of the Playground’.

Combining instrumentals that are reminiscent of the likes of Badly Drawn Boy had the beanie-toting band had all the endearing zest for life and upbeat ethos’ of The Beatles. Whilst far from as classic as the latter, their chirpy melodies and cheerful harmonies make summertime toe-tapping an unavoidable inevitability of the band’s newest album.

Combining pop, indie and folk, the two-piece consisting of Jof Owen and Pete Hobbs, have endured a pretty bumpy ride to before the release of this thirteen-track treat. With it initially due out in the summer, Owen and Hobbs took their finished album to their record label last year, only to find it was no longer in existence. The band then spent the next few months writing new songs and tweaking their album before its release early this month.

The result; an album with more real depth and emotion than may have prevailed, had the band not hit such walls along the way. Having already toured with Razorlight, fans of the likes of The Shins and afore mentioned should definitely step into the world of The Boy Least Likely To, it looks set to get rather crowded.

Album Review - Bonny 'Prince' Billy - Beware - Noize Makes Enemies

Don’t let the adjective fool you, Bonnie Prince Billy really isn’t very bonnie, but he is pretty bloody good. Infusing folk, country and rock, Will Oldham, the mastermind behind the outfit, brings his established fan base a fourth album.

The album mirrors an array of emotions that don’t always translate into vocabulary as easily for the rest of us as they seem to for Oldham, something that is no doubt a result of an innate talent and years of musical experience.

Traditional country tracks such as “Beware Your Only Friend” emulate provocative lyrics like /Watch out for these empty thoughts/ that’s where the seeds of soul sucking grows/ in a way that interrupts and penetrates the listener’s deepest thoughts.

Similarly, tracks like “There is Something I Have to Say” have a more unique blues style and in turn make Bonnie Prince Billy’s heart felt lyrical pleas pluck at the heart strings of anyone who has ever had their heart broken. This combination makes a rather niche genre accessible and refreshingly enjoyable for a more extensive audience.

Though, throughout the course of the thirteen tracks, the average non-country music fan may start to find the tales of loss and depravation a tad draining, Oldham’s musical ability is far from disputable.

Admittedly, Bonnie Prince Billy’s new album will not be the next must-have for fans of mainsteam Ting Tings and whatever else is deemed ‘alternative’ this month, but a refreshing step back from computer-manipulated music and encouraging the broadening of musical tastes is far from a bad thing and something that Oldham effortlessly advocates.

Interview with Mark Dolan - Entertainment Newsline

“I’ve got a proper bloomin’ Hollywood smile now; I’m going to have to drink a few cups of black coffee to balance it out!”; As charming as he is funny, Mark Dolan’s effortlessly likeable nature emanates from him as he tells of his earlier dentist appointment.
Talking of how his career got started as a radio producer after working for free at a woman’s radio station, Viva!, it's clear that Mark’s passion for comedy and broadcasting was something deeply set from the start:

“I have always had a passion for people and entertainment is basically a people industry. Your main job is to hopefully, or at least sometimes, to make the audience have a good time when you’re there and that’s just something I’ve always found incredibly alluring.”

“It started as a desire to have an audience. I’ve always been drawn to a crowd and even though I was also quite a shy child, which is ironic, but also perhaps the reason that people become performers. Sort of a strange mixture of an appetite for attention mixed with shyness, I think is often a formula that leads to a performer.”

Sticking at comedy whilst earning a living from producing, Mark soon made the final of Channel Four’s ‘So You Think You’re Funny?’ at Edinburgh Festival. Being praised by the show’s experienced judges not only helped eradicate some of Mark’s humble uncertainty of his talent, but also was a platform for his long-running relationship with the channel:

“You know when people say that if you get through the semi final of something and you go to the final – you’ve already won - although it’s corny, I think in my case looking back on it, it was true.

“It was the first time in my life when I allowed myself to consider this as a career option. One of the hardest things about live comedy is that when a gig goes well you think you’re a genius and when a gig goes badly you think you’re the least funny person on the face of the earth…And there’s very little that can dissuade you either way. You’re a sort of emotional pinball in the machine that is the will of the audience.”

With a new sense of purpose, Mark continued gigging on the London circuit and soon was approached by two people from the television industry looking for faces for a new channel, E4. From that, Mark got his big break on a new show called ‘Show Me The Funny. Mark went on to make his name whilst presenting Channel Four’s ‘Balls of Steel’:

"Balls of Steel was a big highlight because it is a show that is so passionately loved by its fans and I get so much feedback from people wanting to to tell me how much they are entertained by it. I’m very impressed by the popular response to it."

Before long, Mark got offered the opportunity to present the new 2008 series ‘The World’s Most...and Me’. The show took him all over the world to find some of the most exceptional record-breakers; ranging from the world’s biggest pet, to the world’s smallest man. Although it was his first documentary series, he couldn’t have been keener to get involved:

“I grabbed it with both hands because it didn’t seem like too much of a leap for me. Although tonally different to a lot of the comedy I do, it still amounts to the same thing -which is people. And I’ve said before, I think comedy is a people business and my documentaries are about people and also still about entertaining the audience, as well as informing them. I really relished the opportunity and I was very enthusiastic about the subject matter.”

Having finished the second series, Mark reflects on what working on such innovative programme has meant for him:

“I think it taught me to be very open minded and less judgemental. I’ve often approached stories with a set of views and had to go back on the plane home, feeling very chasten having judged somebody before having met them, which is obviously what the audience and all human beings do too. One of the challenges of the show was to get out there and have my feelings changed.

“The other thing I’ve learnt is about the fortitude of the human spirit, particularly in the first series. Meeting the tallest women in the world, some of whom are extremely poorly, having severe health issues. Indeed, Sandy Allen, who was the tallest woman in the world, passed away a couple of months after the show was broadcast and she, along with a lot of the other physically extraordinary characters I met, had a wonderful mixture of vulnerability and strength.”

The popular series has meant that Mark has met some of the world’s most extraordinary people and visited some of the world’s most remote and unique places. But this has its pitfalls for the devoted dad of one:

“Being away from the family is the only downside of the job really because I am a very hands on and very attached dad. I’m one of these sort of new men that changes nappies and stuff. But it is very affirming about how much I care for them and sometimes, well just put it this way, I don’t think my wife minds a little bit of space…she doesn’t see to be complaining too hard!

“It’s also a great opportunity for me to assess what kind of parent I am and what I should be aiming for as a parent. Meeting the cleverest children in the world certainly showed me that a child’s intellectual potential is infinite and without wishing, from coming back from meeting Adora Svitak, to suddenly give my son a 12 hour academic day, it was hugely inspiring for me as a dad.”

With the latest series coming to an end earlier this month, Mark isn’t ruling out any more convention-breaking programmes for the future, remaining characteristically open-minded:

“I think if my wife can stand it, I certainly wouldn’t be adverse to a bit more globe trotting because I still think there are some amazing stories out there. Luckily we’re dealing with the human race so we could run forever frankly. I’m also looking to continue more live comedy. I’ve got a weekly residency at a comedy club in Soho on Saturdays and looking to expand that and hopefully do a solo show next year.”

Mark's innate ability to make people laugh and make people feel instantly comfortable is no doubt something that has driven his success and is a factor that means an exciting future for one of Britain's most loved funny men and broadcasters.

Voluntary Butler Scheme Interview - Noize Makes Enemies

“I was at a social gathering the other day and a guy I don't know was there - he'd come straight from work and he had dust all over his clothes and kept talking about sanding wood – I felt jealous for the first time in ages!! So I'm starting to think I'd like to do something with wood if the music looks grim...”

Swittching from tunes to timber? No, perhaps not your normal choice of career path, but Rob Jones is not exactly your generic music artist. Describing his music as “a zesty, slightly under-bombastic, ooh-that-sounds-a-bit-like-the-old-days-but-newer kind of pop”, his natural laid back approach to what he does and eccentric tendencies are a refreshing change to the standardized musical packages that the industry churns out with the aim to just make money. Something that is reiterated by Rob releasing his last EP, The Vol-Au-Vent EP, as a free download:

“I remember on this day thinking - right, I’m gonna write four mini tunes today on my lunch break and record them after work tomorrow night and just give it away. So it was intentional and quite liberating to be so flippant about finishing them. I think you can't take writing too seriously - and sometimes it gets dead serious in your head and you have to slap that out of you by doing something that's not precious. But then that stuff ends up being the precious stuff.”

And precious it seems to be, with The Voluntary Butler Scheme’s new single being hailed as Q website’s Track of the Day. ‘Multiplayer’ is out early March and incorporates typically quirky lyrics like ‘I’m gonna get my hair cut, even if I have to cut it myself.” Rob explains his inspiration:

“ I wanted to write a tune that sounded a bit like a 70's Nick Lowe thing, mixed with Saturday night fever and modern Kylie - but with my shitty voice singing evasive love lyrics - and I think I got there.“

Rob’s humble take on his musical capability may because his one-man-band is only a year old. After being unintentionally spotted last year on his MySpace page, and then asked to do a gig in West Midlands, the wheels of the Voluntary Butler Scheme were set into motion;

“I had some tunes on MySpace under the VBS name - with no intention of doing much, but I got asked to do a gig in Birmingham through the MySpace. I sherked it for ages, but decided to do it cause it was local. I'd never sang in public before and I didn't invite anyone. There were about 12 people there, I only had 6 songs and I was 'headlining'. I came away from the gig thinking 'I enjoyed singing, but I think all my songs might be shit?' So for weeks I wrote intensively trying to write some tunes I'd be proud of singing...the rest is history...but I doubt it'll ever be in a history book? Or taught in history lessons at schools…?”

And once it all kicked off, 2008 had plenty of exciting points for Rob:

“It was amazing! It was my first year of doing this and I got to do some amazing things. Highlights were defo touring with Duke Special, doing a session on the Dermot O’Leary show, BBC Maida Vale session, Marc Riley session, getting asked to support James on their Isle Of Wight warm-up show as personal request from the bass player, making a video, getting a bit of airplay out my first single, playing the Lattitude festival...loads!”

Whilst inspired by the likes of Granddaddy, Flaming Lips and Slade, the ever-relaxed Rob has no plans to follow in their footsteps and form a band:

“I really struggle with taking it too seriously. The thing I most enjoy about doing it on my own is - if I don't feel like doing it, I just don't. If I haven't got any ideas I like I just don't record. But when you're in bands it all gets a bit 'Right, we'll record some new stuff on Sunday' and I don't think I can write like that.”

Yet, Rob does have some plans for a change in direction for the future:

“I defo wanna do something more collaborative at some point. I've been getting some remixes in of 'Tabasco Sole' which is the next single. One has some amazing semi-rapping on - and that made think how much I'd love to do something colourful and beatsy with some rap on. But I don't wanna rap so it'll have to be a more collaborative thing. I'm jealous of all the hip hop sounds! I wanna work with whoever's hogging the hip hop sounds - I'm starting to sound like Elton John over here without you!”

Whilst his hip hop leanings may be a while off (…not to mention Rob’s potential carpentry career!) with an upcoming tour with Brakes in April and the new single out in March – the immediate future is looking quite exciting for the Voluntary Butler Scheme, even if Rob is characteristically humble about it:

“I was a really really ambitious 20 year old! I'm a slightly less ambitious and slightly more beaten down 23 year old now - but i have still have a positive streak keeping me going. In ten years I’d still like to be in contact with music - even if it's just hip hop at weekends you know.”

Single Review - Sky Larkin - Beeline - Noize Makes Enemies

As Katie Harkin’s vocals, reminiscent of Ida Maria meets Bjork, burst through your speakers at the start of ‘Beeline’, over guitars that make it impossible for your body not to react, it is clear that Sky Larkin are onto a winning formula.

Made up of two men and one girl, the Leeds three-piece has attributes similar to their label mates Those Dancing Days and Los Campensinos! with their charismatic female lead vocalist, simplified lyrics and demanding guitar chords.

The new single ‘Beeline’ embodies all the above characteristics and is the perfect taster for what their new album ‘The Golden Spike’, out Monday 9th February, has to offer. But squeezing into the already populated female Indie niche - bustling with the likes of Lykelli and Florence and The Machine - will be the biggest test for Sky Larkin as Harkin’s striking similarity to the likes of Ida Maria and the band’s rather nostalgic structure will have a lot to compete with.

Yet touring in SXSW around Texas in March and having already appeared with bands as renowned as Broken Social Scene, the Northern lovelies seem to already have a lot of the fight that they’re going to need in them.

Album Review - Spencer McGarry Season - Episode 1 - Noize Makes Enemies

Spencer McGarry Season is a Welsh trio with a rather different approach to music. Infused with a sort of amateur dramatics and in the same way that a stage school child can be spotted a mile off - doing star jumps and striving for attention - Spencer McGarry’s background in theatrics prevails in his band’s music, and indeed with their innovative style to creating music.

‘Episode 1’ is exactly what it says on the tin, the first episode of a six part series of albums from the three-piece, all with a different inspiration and theme. Their re-released new album pays homage to all of McGarry’s favourite Rock bands from the 1960s,1970s and 1980s. McGarry’s fundamental influences from these eras including The Who, Talking Heads and The Kinks are effortlessly portrayed in each guitar chord sequence and throughout the twelve tracks.

Hailed unofficially by Wales Online as the best album of the week, the band’s maturity and somewhat Hard Fi –esque social awareness, with lines like /I thought about saving but it never rains/ and /Success is always measured by stress/ You know my body loves stress/ will always appeal to audiences who find the words that they fail to articulate in the band’s lyrics.

Whilst the album is unlikely to stir up a musical frenzy with its seen-before style lacking any real current relevance to the music industry, Spencer McGarry Season’s top secret and innovative Star Wars-inspired approach to album production makes them one to watch throughout 2009.

EP Review - Sunny Day Sets Fire - Adrenaline - Noize Makes Enemies

After hearing that they chose their name from an internet band name generator, any hopes that Sunny Day Sets Fire would be something innovative and different to pin your lugholes back for may have been dashed. Yet, what’s in a name? Not a lot it would appear, as you delve deeper into the bands biography and music.

Like a poster child for greater ethnic diversity, the band bring together four different countries; Canada, Hong Kong, Italy and the UK, but the result is not a confused and over-compensated-for sound, instead, this multi-cultural angle appears to add depth to their musical style.

Their EP, released Monday, a fortnight before their debut UK album ‘Summer Place’, has qualities of bands such as Those Dancing Days, with a contagious combination of up-tempo beats, childlike claps and endearingly simplified lyrics in tracks like ‘Adrenaline’ such as /I always walk very fast, if you don’t like it you can rest./

Whilst ‘The Rescue’ and ‘Lack of View’ showcases Onyee’s vocal similarity to Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie and the more electro strand to the band’s variety, the tracks fail to conjure a trademark sound that often a new band need in order to render a sturdy fanbase. Yet, hard to judge a band on three tracks and a remix, this is something the band’s debut album could further demonstrate, particularly as the band’s talent; playing around seven instruments between them, is not in dispute.

Watching bands develop and find a sound that categorically embodies what they’re about is often one of the best things about finding new music, so if you’re into eclectic bands or those aforementioned, keep an eye out for the Sunny Day Sets Fire debut album at the end of the month as their EP ‘Adrenaline’ shows the band’s deep-rooted capability and potential.

Album Review - Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion - Noize Makes Enemies

/If I could leave my body for the night…/ Step into the world of Animal Collective. A sort of psychedelic mammal mishmash that conjures images of an Alice In Wonderland inspired paradise. The eleven tracks of their new album engulf and transfer the listener into a refreshingly different place in a way that makes it hard to step back into reality.

The four-piece, all school friends hailing from Baltimore, are as innovative and unique as their take on music. Their adopted pseudonyms; Geologist, Panda Bear, Avey Tare and Deakin (or Brian, Noah, David and Josh..) connote that, much like the likes of Florence Welsh, the band really live and breathe this fantasy noise rock haven – as oppose to it being some fickle and cynical marketing ploy.

The album is the band’s fourth release since 2000 and typically unconventionally, each track may have been made of any combination of the four members. Tracks like ‘ My Girls’, first release from the album, and ‘In the Flowers’ stand out, with their trademark style- as with most of the album - sounding like the endearing vocals and electro persuasions of bands like Hot Chip and MGMT, had they been remixed by dark electronica songwriter Leila.

With tracks about lions in comas and lyrics like /I’m getting lost in your curls/ the bands experimental take on electro and bubble of creativity is difficult not to be intoxicated by. Similarly, Merriweather Post Pavilion’s description as ‘Best Album of 2009’ from many critics, whilst seemingly premature as we’re only one month in to the New Year, seems well deserved.

As Animal Collective embark on an intense tour across the US, UK and Europe from the end of February right up to headlining New York’s All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival in September, their unusual whirlwind world will no doubt bring a welcomed dose of unreality to the rest of us.

Pete and The Pirates Interview - Noize Makes Enemies

Starting off with a list of apparent joke-fuelled ambitions may not be the usual progression into success for a band, but from the minute you hear; “She dances like she’s got her feet in her brain/ She dances like she might never again” followed by a sporadic and chaotic guitar riff, it’s clear Pete and The Pirates are no ordinary band.

“When we first started we had this sort of five step plan. The first was to play a gig and I think the second was to play a gig in London. The third was to get signed and the fourth step was to play at Reading festival because we’re all from Reading; but those were kind of just jokes. And we’ve obviously done those now. The fifth was to play at Wembley…but that’s a joke too. We just want to make a really good new album that everyone likes.”


The normally tambourine toting, Tom Saunders, vocalist from Pete and The Pirates, is refreshingly humble and chilled out in a way that quick fame and recognition can often destroy; something paradoxically personified by Razorlight’s Johnny Borrell.

But following an epic 2008, his feet remain firmly fixed to his Reading roots, having realised a dream and passion he’s had from the very start;

“I’ve always been hitting things and making noise. I’ve never wanted to do anything else. And we all sort of knew each other because we lived close so we started working together. But we all have really different influences. If someone asks us when we’re together, we all just start talking over each other. We all like Sonic Youth and Pavement. A massive influence for me is David Bowie. Not just in terms of song-writing but also just in terms of the standard that I set for myself. Does that make sense? You can re-write this in a way that makes sense!”

Explaining a lot of the band’s eclectic and jangling trademark sound, Tom’s modesty and effortlessly down-to-earth nature is unavoidably endearing. It also, in many ways, along with their talent, reinforces why Pete and The Pirates have such an excitably loyal fanbase. With their debut album, Little Death, released early last year receiving mixed reviews from music journalists, the band went on to play Bestival, Reading and Leeds Festival, demonstrating their unquestionable musical prowess.

“2008 was pretty amazing. Summer was a massive highlight. Tell any band that they’re going to spend the three months going and playing at festivals and they’re gonna love it. At Bestival we were told we wouldn’t be able to play because of the weather. We were gutted so we drowned our sorrows but then found out we could play after all. We were pretty drunk but it was amazing.”

Having seen in the New Year headlining at Camden’s trendy KOKO, the perfect end to an amazing year and the high benchmark for the band in 2009 has well and truly been established:

“We were a bit worried because we had all drank a lot but it was great. A surprisingly good way to spend New Years Eve – everyone loved it. I don’t have any new years’ resolutions though. I have very little will power so a while ago I made a resolution not to make any more resolutions.”

But for a band that in have already fulfilled four of their wildest ambitions, with a new album on the way and their new single, Jennifer, out this week, what does the new year have in store for the four Berkshire boys?

“We’re locked in a room at the moment, choosing what songs to put on the new album which is out sometime this year. We want it to make it as good as ‘Little Death’…and better.”

Whatever happens, 2009, for Pete and the Pirates, seems deservedly occupied with an abundance of success, more fulfilled ambitions, festivals and seemingly inevitably…a lot more alcohol - at least if 2008 is anything to go by.

Gig Review - Kings of Leon- Bournemouth International Centre 14/12/08

A normal Sunday for people in Bournemouth would usually consist of a poor attempt at a roast dinner, students desperately trying to start and finish the assignment due midday on Monday or a night in watching Coronation Street. But this was no ordinary Sunday, this was the day that Followill fever hit Bournemouth in a big way.

The South American four-piece began their astounding almost two-hour set at 8.45pm, following support from M83 – a French electro band that arguably received less audience encouragement than their talent would warrant. Although, judging by the crowd’s intoxicating hysteria on the first strum of a recognisable chord sequence from Kings of Leon - impatience and anticipation may have had a lot to do with the seeming dismissal of the support.

Kings of Leon have been propelled into the mainstream since the release of their last two albums at a rate that their chequered shirts and newly short do’s could barely keep up with. Yet, unlike the fickle scene-chasing fans of many other bands of the genre, the self-professed Kings of the Rodeo’s fan base which have been there since the beginning have stood proudly, like parents watching their child achieve their ambitions – something that the band are appreciative of, later telling their sea-side audience “It’s fans like you who keep us doing this”.

This was also demonstrated by the set list; entwining tracks from all four of their impressively diverse albums into their set. Starting things with ‘Closer’ and the bass-heavy ‘Crawl’ before the renowned ‘Kings of the Rodeo’, meant a crowd of hysterical fans dancing like their lives depended on it…with the occasional over-zealous crowd surfer being dragged out by security of course.

Four songs in and lead singer and guitarist, Caleb Followill, followed the typically epic ‘Molly’s Chamber’ with a brief belated introduction: “We’re Kings of Leon”. Greeted by an uproar of applause from fans hugely appreciative of the refreshingly humble approach for a band that, in 2008, need no introduction.

Whilst bassist and many a female fan favourite, Jared Followill, spent a lot of the show with this back to the audience, he turned to lend his vocals to chart topping ‘Use Somebody’ and to demonstrate his bass prowess on tracks like ‘Sex on Fire’. The musical ability of Kings of Leon is something that prevails in a way that leaves even the most fickle of music fans questioning how they possible stayed under the radar for so long. Guitar riffs and Caleb’s raspy vocals tugged at the hairs on the back of everyone’s necks amongst an atmosphere of fans clearly having the time of their lives.

And the perfect end to the perfect show? A four song encore. Leaving the audience to work themselves up into a frenzy for five minutes and to allow Caleb to no doubt consume as much Evian as his bladder capacity would allow after an immense performance of ‘Trani’, the band returned to play ‘Knocked Up’, the show-stopping ‘Charmer’, ‘Slow Night So Long’ and ‘Black Thumbnail’.

If only all Sundays were like this.


Set List:
Closer
Crawl
Kings of the Rodeo
Joe’s Head
Molly’s Chamber
Fans
Revelry
Milk
Four Kicks
Pistol of Fire
Wasted Time
Notion
Sex on Fire
The Bucket
Use Somebody
My Party
Cold Desert
Trani
Encore – Knocked Up, Charmer, Slow Night So Long, Black Thumbnail

Single Review - Calexico - Victor Jara's Hands - Noize Makes Enemies

It is unlikely that Calexico will be whatever you are expecting, or at least that was definitely the case for me. The Arizonan six-piece recorded their 2005 EP with folk, often spine-tingle-encouraging, Iron and Wine, and whilst Calexico have the same southern sound -with country and folk attributes –they inject an unexpected world music overtone to their music.

Calexico’s latest release, ‘Victor Jara’s Hands’ is no different –incorporating all of these factors into a style that is a very welcome distraction from a typically bleak British December, but arguably lacks a great deal of relevance in the modern music industry. However, perhaps this is not such a bad thing.

Kicking off 2009 with a sixteen-date tour of Europe, Calexico, although undoubtedly not everybody’s preferred musical style, are talented and definitely would appear to be doing something right.

If a band that have an established approach which exudes innovation and works for them, should they need to tamper with and manipulate their music to appeal to mass audiences? I would suggest not.

The world is a more interesting place because everybody is different, and the music industry is undeniably a better place as a result of mould-breaking bands like Calexico.

EP Review - Get Well Soon - Listen - Noize Makes Enemies

Get Well Soon are a seven-piece German band. Fronted by Konstantin Gropper who is quite the talented multi-tasker; songwriting, singing and playing a host of instruments in the band.

It is these kinds of quirky factors that become less surprising, and almost characteristic of Get Well Soon. In an adjective, they are; diverse. Incorporating, violins, banjos, what sounds like a glockenspiel and then fusing these into dark instrumentals not unlike the newer work of Radiohead and teaming this with Gropper’s vocals - reminiscent of Matt Bellamy’s (of Muse).

Add in Gropper’s vast American/Canadian influences which range from Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth to Leonard Cohen and the foundations for the choice of adjective should be a great deal clearer.

Get Well Soon’s latest EP is a showcase for the above descriptions and with tracks like “Christmas in Adventure Parks’ showing a more folk side to the band, their status for most successful newcomer tour in Germany this year demonstrates the success of their fine balance between dark gothic tendencies and more mainstream genres.

With it’s potentially niche audience, Get Well Soon are unlikely to beat Alexandra Burke to the Christmas number one spot this year, but Gropper’s musical talent is indisputable and music fans willing to open their minds to the more experimental; this EP could be well worth a listen.

Album Review - Her Space Holiday - XOXO Panda and The New Kid Revival - Noize Makes Enemies

Visually, Marc Bianchi, aka XOXO Panda looks like a cross between Weezer front man Rivers Cuomo, with the tattooed torso of Travis Barker. Originally hailing from the bands Indian Summer and Mohinder, this paradoxical and somewhat unexpected appearance is undoubtedly a direct consequence of Bianchi’s background in hardcore music.

Clearly an innate courage for change, Her Space Holiday’s new album is a clear progression from previous work. Tracks from ‘Telescope’, the bands 2006 release, demonstrate Bianchi’s lyrical capability but are musically somewhat easier to apply to a genre or compare to bands such as The Postal Service.

However, whilst his latest album has the same acoustic theme and warming lyrics, there is something quite traditional or older sounding about the thirteen tracks, particularly musically on “No More Good Ideas”. Whether it’s the optimism and upbeat tone to the music – something which is seemingly becoming less commonplace in modern music, or whether it’s due to the harmonies and impossible-to-pigeon-hole sound; either way it’s inarguably refreshing.

There’s an aurora of maturity and reflection on experience that is inevitable with a singer/songwriter who has been in the music industry for as long as Bianchi. But rather than a patronising and irrelevant slant after twelve years of making music, the consequences on tracks like “Year in Review” and “The World Will Deem Us Dangerous” are lyrics that demand attention and seem to effortlessly soothe any potential personal dissatisfaction by persuading it into a broader perspective.

Lyrics such as “Hold your breath and count to three, if you know the words then sing with me” make the album at times feel not unlike a campfire session for fans of alternative music. Yet, at the end of a year that has heard numerous musicians complain about the attributes of fame and at times demonstrate a flagrant disregard for the support their fans show – Bianchi’s positivity and his audacity to bungee jump from one genre to another, at times creating new ones altogether, would appear a breath of fresh air.

Album Review - Popular Workshop - We're Alive and We're Not Alone - Noize Makes Enemies

Withdrawal symptoms in the absence of Nikolai Fraiture of the Strokes’ dirty bass guitar riffs’ and a fan of sporadic bands like El Milano?

Ready to meet your new favourite band…?

Well, you need to be as they won’t give you much of a gradual welcome - preferring instead to grab you by the lugholes and drag you at full force into their fashionable new world.

Popular Workshop are an excitable Indie trio with a prevailing dislike for all things cliché – particularly of the neon omitting Nu Rave variety.

Tracks like ‘Uh (Uh) Uh Uh’ and ‘Get Up and Wait’ show the temperamental nature of the likes of Biffy Clyro in their ability to switch from relateable arty outbursts to thoroughly embittered screamo declarations like ‘I don’t want to fall in love’ over and over.

Popular Workshop’s debut album ‘We’re Alive and We’re Not Alone’ is thirteen tracks dripping with potential and angsty body trashing magic – a perfect distraction from the prevailing British winter weather.

Album Review - Those Dancing Days - In Our Hero Space Suits - Noize Makes Enemies

Sweden can’t seem to stop churning out pop lovelies including Lykelli, Peter Bjorn and John and the likes for us lucky Brits and Those Dancing Days are no exception.

They are a five-piece lyric writing, instrument playing, live performing girl band. Alien concept, Girls Aloud? Perhaps - but to anyone who thinks the niche for female indie bands in the alternative music scene has been long in need of filling – Those Dancing Days are a very welcome concept indeed.

Their innocence makes them look slightly like the sisters in the film ‘The Virgin Suicides’ after a day trip to a vintage boutique but their sound makes them a sort of seventies throw back splash of quirkiness with upbeat lyrics.

Tracks like ‘Hitten’ and ‘1000 words’ show there’s a lot more depth and vulnerability to the band than a retro dance outfit with lyrics like ‘I feel like I’m lost in this body, trying to get inside my head’ which is inevitably needed with any band who hope to maintain some form of longevity in the industry.

Named after the Led Zepplin track ‘Dancing Days’ and label mates with the likes of Los Campesinos! Clap your Hands Say Yeah and Bloc Party – everything about this innovative girl band screams future success.

Single Review - Keith - Up in the Clouds - Noize Makes Enemies

Manchurian band, Keith, have all the swagger of Johnny Borrell and with their first single from new album ‘Vice and Virtue’ setting the bar so high – you can see why.

‘Up in the Clouds’ is three minutes of uninterrupted attitude with epic psychedelic melodies reminiscent of an acid-ridden Cajun Dance Party and vocalist Oli Bayston not sounding unlike Fyfe Dangerfield of Guillemots fame at various points…and, weirdly, it works.

Two minutes in, the band break into what feels like a twenty second homage to their talented influences of Battles and Broken Social Scene- as with the band’s B-Side track ‘La Ritournelle’. It’s this disjointed feel that engulfs the album’s first release and hooks the listener with blunt lyrics like ‘You know I don’t care that you are much more beautiful to you, than me’.

In person, the band look like a rough around the edges Alex Turner and Ian Brown with two of their mates – in a sort of Rascals-esque side project. But, on listening to ‘Up in the Clouds’; the band stick two calloused fingers up at any pigeon-holing into specific genres and give the impression that the Northern four-piece will keep on doing things their way regardless – something that is no doubt a great thing.

Album Review - Girl Talk - Feed The Animals - Noize Makes Enemies

Eight years in and innovation officially has a well established face - personified in the shape of Greg Gillis.

Otherwise known as Girl Talk, he has become renowned for his ability to mash up and re-entwine music samples from artists ranging from Avril Lavigne and Missy Elliot, to Prince and Nirvana.

And the result? ‘Feed The Animals’ is fifty minutes of insatiable schizophrenic tracks amounting to more than 300 re-worked samples on his latest dirty hip hop and electro fused album.

The juxtaposition of such a variety of genres, both contemporary and long-standing, in such a meticulous way has in no way gone unnoticed in the music industry with Girl Talk finding himself in high demand. Having consequently produced with artists including the likes of Tokyo Police Club, Simian Mobile Disco and Peter, Bjorn and John – his diversity is ever-impressive.

Sick of the same old stuff churned out of your stereo? Greg Gillis is here to smash all your CDs into a giant blender, throw in some effortless cool and serve it back up to you in a way that will put a smile on the faces of even the most serious of music fans.

EP Review - Imajin - We are Speakers - The Mag

All too often I open up my monthly batch of unsigned CDs to find a predictably average sounding band that I could have sworn I’ve reviewed before.

Bands like Imajin are that exception - and affectively what it is all about.

Encapsulating Radiohead’s unavoidable stop-and-listen mentality which, when teamed with Jim Connelly’s vocals that are as intoxicating as Brandon Boyd’s best soulful tracks, create a truly raw talent and a four-piece that are not to be overlooked.

With comparisons to a British version of The Doors, fans of Thom Yorke and generally melodic and rather melodramatic alternative music, may have just found their new favourite band.

EP Review - Garth Adam - Storm in a Tea Cup - The Mag

Garth Adam’s fourth release since 2002 is his new EP; Storm in a Tea Cup.

Sounding like some version of Crowded House with a soppy uplifting Lighthouse Family ethos - it’s relevance in today’s music market is questionable.

With an established career behind him in Australia, his talent isn’t in dispute – more so whether the borderline cheesy melodies and attempt at socially- conscious lyrics like ‘What is the reason for the gap between the rich and the poor?’ can really cut it in such a talent rich industry.

Whilst a bit of uplifting music or profound vocals are no doubt welcome in the midst of a rather depressing winter and Garth Adam may be the secret to cheering many a credit crunch victim up, for me, I’m not so sure.