Getintothis’ Sean Bradbury finds himself tangled up in dark twisted bluegrass. Then spat back out again. Here’s this week’s Singles Club – phlegm not included.
O’Death: Bugs – Single of the Week
The haunting double-tracked vocals and surging banjo breakdown on Bugs send you to an ethereal, timeless place caught between major and minor key before spitting you back out again – all in the space of two minutes, thirteen seconds. A brief but beautiful, dark, twisted bluegrass fantasy.
Ed Sheeran: A Team
While everything about the accomplished but anodyne A Team screams ‘British John Mayer‘, this style is just one side of Ed Sheeran.
His stunning recent performance on Jools Holland, the rave reviews for his gig at Sound City and the rest of his eclectic output so far all goesto show he is a natural whose exuberant experimentation will serve uphundreds of gems in time to come.
Super-Cannes: Idee Fixe EP
Although they are based in Liverpool, Super-Cannes take their musical cues from further along the M62.
Bereft of jangly riffs and upbeat lyrics, this varied, promising five-track EP showcases layered guitars and dark melodies with a lineage somewhere between Joy Division and The Doors. A more than promising start.
Swimming: Island in the Sun
Swimming have been plugging away since 2005 and it shows.
While John Sampson‘s Americanised falsetto flourishes don’t sound like they could possibly emit from a Nottingham native, the front man and the rest of the band certainly sound like a polished, ambitious outfit on this four-track sampler. Every chugging guitar riff and piercing synth stabon lead track Island in the Sun hums with the conviction of a group about to make a deserved break through.
Thomas Tantrum: Hot Hot Summer
Thomas Tantrum have crossed their fingers for a Great British Summer with this early, does-what-it-says-on-the-tin contender to soundtrack the sunny months.
Disposable but naggingly insistent pop-punk that will be sure to trouble the charts – as long as the weather holds.
Cloud Control: This is What I Said
If you asked Vampire Weekend to try something a little more Fleet Foxes, the end product wouldn’t be far from Cloud Control on this evidence – vocals registering on the spectrum between Paul Simon and Frank Black, locked in a lilting calypso groove and peppered withpowerful harmonies.
Wolf Gang: The King And All Of His Men
While the lyrics and melody sound like a distantly familiar 80s powerballad, the punchy synths and driving beat of The King And All Of His Men are more Cut Copy than Bruce Hornsby, giving the track enough of amodern veneer to work.
Airship: Kids
Thundering, sneering Manc indie with a bleak tinge that wears its influences (Placebo, My Vitriol) on its sleeve.
In Fear of Olive: All We Can Do Is Wonder EP
The rootsy sound of the Doncaster Delta, opening with bluesy romp I’m Sure They’ll Fall before cracking out a lap steel guitar and mournfulharmonies for the remaining three more downbeat, but no less impressive, tracks.
