Getintothis’ Peter Guy on the new music talent which is set to shape 2012 in Liverpool.
1. Loved Ones
Last year Getintothis racked up around 4.7million plays of Outfit while whisking our way round the Northern line on Merseyrail. In 2012 there’s a good chance Loved Ones could follow suit.
From the moment we heard debut single, Are You Hiding Out In Hell, we were hooked, and the delights within debut album The Merry Monarch are vast; a ragtag sprawl of enigmatic future-folk which captures Yeasayer‘s playful verve before adding a spoonful of venom and a whole heap of nagging riffs.
Key track All Your Cry has a melody to die for and is already a contender for track of the year while their Everisland Kazimier date on January 13 with Capac, Hive Collective and Sun Drums is a must.
As the name suggests, these are the ones to truly love.
HI-PRESSURE by LovedOnes
2. Jethro Fox
Two month ago, my buddy Jon Hillcock messages me, ‘Know anything about this Liverpool kid called Jethro?‘ ‘Vaguely,’ we reply, with more than a touch of exaggeration.
Two weeks later we’re finishing our quite frankly audacious dessert of white chocolate and cranberry cheesecake in Puschka, when the waiter asks if we’d listen to his track.
It was called Before. By Jethro Fox. Jon’s always on the money.
Before by Jethro Fox
3. Ninetails
Like Jethro, Ninetails have an association with LIPA. They like so many of the recent crop are changing stale stereotypess of Macca’s arts school by not just bringing incredible music to the table but by mixing it up and working within the scene.
Ninetails played several key dates during November’s Liverpool Music Week and their support slot with Three Trapped Tigers was quite possibly the set of the festival.
Remarkable musicianship married to a giveafuck attitude had us won over within minutes.
Ghost Ride the Whip by ninetails//
4. Big Effigy
Not so much a new face, but George Maund is always worth keeping an firmly-trained eye on.
Like the more established Ex-Easter Island Head big chief, Benjamin Duvall, Maund or whatever moniker he’s assumed this week, is frankly a unique talent and professor of music.
Back from touring Europe with Stig Noise Soundsystem and after what seems like the now aborted Mother Earth (drummer, and key cog Jacob’s move to St Martin’s College curtailed what was an incredible proposition), it’s left to Maund to shape-shift into a new guise.
What form that takes can only be worth investigating.
Lapwing (Big Effigy Mid-Fi Overhaul) by Big Effigy
5. Dassunser
New one this. And lick-your-lips exciting too. About time Liverpool had some fluffed up DFA-meets-kraut electro and this is just the ticket.
Details are scarce about the trio but we’ll be able to find out more when this Harvest Sun corker at Mello Mello happens. More on ’em here.
Kittens (Mashemix) by Dassunser
Kings and Queens by Dassunser
6. Faded Gold
Getintothis and Stef Chew go way back. Like, pre-myspace. That she’s ventured into sound is of no surprise. That it’s this good isn’t really either.
If she can put on gigs and make a go of it, well, that’d be something. We waxed lyrical back in August, since then she’s retreated into the ether. But magic takes time.
Velvet Crush by FadedGold
7. The Temps
Hardly a new name, Getintothis was championing their raging ferocity two years ago, but The Temps are still one of the youngest bands on the block – and they’re also one of the best.
Recent line-up changes and a desire to harness that unnerving live presence has sparked a new-found ambition while support for the likes of The Fall and studio collaboration with Wave Machines can only have helped bring an added dimension to their sound. Let’s hope The Temps deliver on that early promise.
The Temps – Soup by AudioApocalypse
8. Jazzhands
The last time we saw George and the ‘Hands they were riding the escalators at Central Station dressed as assorted vegetables. It seemed somewhat natural for a band that trades Hella and Lightning Bolt with John Coltrane.
Turned out they were filming their video.
FAIR ENOUGH.
JazzHands by JazzHands Inc
9. MC Sas and Sleep Less Studios
Not so much an artist, MC Sas, (or Curtis to his mates) is a one-man tune banger and studio boss, churning out razor-edged grime, garage and general bass-orientated thudders left, right and centre.
Teaming up with the city’s long-established indie Viper record label, Sas and his cats are making some of the hottest urban cuts in a damn good while.
03 Kumarachi – Chrysalis (1) by Sleep Less Records Uk
10. Dan Croll
Bit of a cop out this, as Daniel is HUGE in terms of been there, done that, is going somewhere fast.
That said, there’s plenty of folk out there that won’t have invested time into the boy most likely to put Liverpool on the map in a BIG way in the next 18 months.
Intuitive, sideways pop with that rare gift for getting under your skin, there’s a reason he’s been shown round the corridors of power at major label offices.
It’s also lovely that such a talent is backed by one of the most humble and genuinely lovely dudes you could hope to meet.
Getintothis on Dan Croll.
ps: We’re not his PR.
Dan Croll – Little One (Demo) by dancrollmusic
11. Crystal Eyes
Another fresh off the shelf, unknown quantity, Mr Eyes tells us via his soundcloud, ‘Brought up in Southwark, live on the Wirral, go to Brookes, got a mad thing for Burial. enjoy x‘
We enjoyed, muchly.
Latest tracks by crystal eyes
12. Salem Rages
Fresh from the wreckage of the fabulously underrated Cold Ones and SSS, this lot tap into earthy scuzz and jazz it up with a penchant for dressing up and adopting names such as Sunday Mourning and Roman Remains.
Which’d be a bit daft were they not such a hoot.
Salem Rages – The Curtain fall by romanremains
13. The Formula and Milk.
The hotbed of new talent, rehearsal space and underground creative team that is Milk have been building up a reputation for sometime now – and The Formula possible represent the best of the bunch.
Formula – The New Thing by Milk:Presents
14. Spitting Cobra
Getintothis has only managed to catch Spitting Cobra the once, but it was an almighty occasion. Like other new Behind The Wall Of Sleep brethren, (namely Mind Mountain), they specialise in noise, power and maximum intensity.
Where they differ is there’s few cliches and pastiche pitfalls to fall into which several of their peers tend to wallow in – indeed, Spitting Cobra are so embroiled in their art they don’t seem to know how good they are and what an exhilarating proposition they can be.
15. Sun Drums
Last, and by no means least, Sun Drums are included by virtue of being the great big question mark of Merseyside music – will they, won’t they?
There’s little doubting their talent, expertise or appetite for music but getting all three of them in one room on a regular basis – and hoping they truly nail it – is becoming more of a task.
Their debut eponymous EP showcased everything we know and love about the band formerly known as Bagheera. But like Egyptian Hip Hop, the band Sun Drums supported back in March 2010, we’re still waiting for those final pieces of the jigsaw to click firmly into place.
Fingers crossed. We know they can do it.
SUN DRUMS by SUN DRUMS
