Death of Guitar Pop – You’ll Be Fine Sunshine

It’s a great time to be a DIY outfit and Essex’s Death of Guitar Pop are no exception. Selling out gigs through word of mouth, dabbling in music management, modelling for Stone Beach’s clothing range, and by day, delivering exquisite Ska pop music.

Their latest offering, ‘You’ll Be Fine Sunshine’ is no exception. Much like the genius of Tommy Cooper, everything seems so simplistic and offers a broad appeal. Really though, something far more creative is at play.

Lyrically, their working class depiction of escaping to warmer climates is remarkable. Tales of “technicolour yawns down a back alley” and recovering with a Lucozade should be put on par with the work on Ray Davies, Damon Albarn and Suggs’ finest efforts.

Whilst we laud the bands efforts of making a living on the DIY scene, we want more. More from the people they so lovingly portray and entertain. The Specials were heralded in their heyday, 30 years on, their set to get another number one album. So, we urge you, join their side and raise them up to the same status, clearly they’re good enough.

*Image courtesy of Jeremy Walker https://www.jeremy-walker.com/

Scrounge - Crimson

South East London duo Scrounge released ‘Etch’ with Fierce Panda last November. It was a raw piece of post-punk. The Goldsmiths alumni are at again on their latest single ‘Crimson’. 

Vocally, Lucy has found a sweet spot between Courtney Barnett and Kim Gordon. It serves this tale of distorted reality well. Backed by Luke’s violent Stephen Malkmus drawl, Scrounge are well on their to the hearts of all post-punk fans.   

The DIY scene of South East London, often overlooked, is set to become undeniable with the prowess of Scrounge. 

*Image courtesy of Fierce Panda Records

Crimson, a song by Scrounge on Spotify

Café Spice - Bn2

Manchester trio Café Spice, fresh from their sold out show at Jimmy’s, have returned with their second single ‘Bn2’ 

No one forgets the first time Joni Mitchell speaks to them on a personal level. Café Spice have now hit that standard on this tale of friendship and heartbreak. So often, this subject breeds lyrical cliché. Here though, they’ve tapped into the aching emptiness words have in these scenarios. 

The ambition is striking, but it’s the execution that’s mind blowing. This is only their second single remember! Cast your eye over recent Green Man or End of the Road festivals, how many folk acts there have ever hit this level?  

With Glastonbury back this year, we urge Emily Eavis and the BBC to give them a huge break, clearly, they won’t disappoint. 

Bn2 Written by us Produced by Martin Hollis Recorded at British Grove Studios, London Follow Café Spice: https://facebook.com/cafespiceband https://instagram.com/cafespiceband https://twitter.com/cafespiceband Café Spice play Jimmy's, Manchester 6th February 2019. Tickets and more information at https://www.cafespiceband.com

Stanleys - The Martyr

Stanleys are a Wigan four piece consisting of Tom Concannon (Vocals), Jake Dorsman (Guitar), Harry Ivory (Bass), and Rob Hilton (Drums). They released their debut EP ‘The Sound of the Stanleys’ last year and have returned with new single ‘The Martyr’.

It’s the kind of free flowing escape from a home town that can only come from youth. Vibrant and aimlessly meandering as it longs for something to drag them away from their surroundings. Lyrically, they've struck gold. This is a classic Western movie isolation and fear being diminished by a wandering hero.

It's the chorus which really lifts their lyrical prowess to the next level though:

“Beat and broken, made to work all day / dreams are forbidden, hopes are cast away as reachless”

The western imagery is given a distinct modern day British feel. Images of Clint Eastwood fade into the brave Wetherspoons staff protesting against the repugnant Timothy Randall Martin. Stick your poverty wages up your mullet you tosser!

'The Martyr' is what true outsiderdom sounds like, not millionaires preaching their salt of the earth. This single is heartfelt, riotous, and escapist. Music lacks the power of film to make prequels but, if it did, this would surely be the early years of Richard Hawley roving the streets of Sheffield.

Forget the right wing millionaires who preach outsiderdom, this is what it sounds like. Heartfelt, alone, longing to belong to something worth loving. Sadly, music cant make prequels like film. If it could, this would surely be Richard Hawley’s teenage years wandering the streets of Sheffield.

Come At The King - Minesweep

London three piece Come At The King enter the affray like Tabasco heavy Bloody Mary. If anyone has any Christmas cobwebs left, their new single ‘Minesweep’ will blow them away.

It’s a furious combination of dirty BRMC riffs and the devilish blues of the 22/20s. When they hit the release valve on the solo, the fluidity of Black Keys and effortlessness of early Oasis comes to the fore.  

Come At The King have arrived in style!

Desperate Journalist - Satellite

Desperate Journalism return with their second single ‘Satellite’ from their upcoming third album 'In Search Of The Miraculous'. The London outfit, signed to the legendary Fierce Panda are, to date, one of the UK’s best kept secrets.

It is however, hard to imagine that secret lasting much longer. ‘Satellite’ is a vast expansive piece of rock n roll that simply has to dominate the airwaves.

There is a real sense of all or nothing oozing from its soul. Guitarist Rob Hardy, is so often the vehicle to shine a light on the glorious vocals of Jo Bevan. Not anymore. They’ve become duo bouncing of each other a la Pete & Karl or Brown & Squire.

The riffs alone are a joyous piece of escapism but, the solo is a destructive force that will leave souls cleansed and former detractors reeling from their mistakes.

They recently sold out London’s Oslo, on this form, Brixton beckons.

Satellite, a song by Desperate Journalist on Spotify

*Image courtesy of Fierce Panda Records

Bugeye - Disco Dancer

Croydon outfit Bugeye, now a four piece since, have been working with Paul Tipler (Placebo, Idlewild, Stereolab) on their new single ‘Disco Dancer’.

Razor sharp basslines and highly sexed guitar riffs, this is a alt-pop anthem to conjure images of post-punk at CBGB’s in its late 70s/early 80s heyday. We defy you to not dance in the mirror at home to these licks!

The merging of Blondie’s funk and Elastica’s aggression feels a natural home for Bugeye and one they can expand upon to even greater things.

*Image courtesy of Stuart Bennett (Deacon Communication)  

MOSES – River Thames

Things are afoot for London’s MOSES. Their recent single ‘Cause You Got Me’ took their monthly Spotify plays from 1.8k to 193k. They supported the UK’s hottest band The Blinders and now, they’ve returned with their new single ‘River Thames’.

Produced by the legendary Gil Norton (Pixies & Foo Fighters), ‘River Thames’ kicks politicians’ banalities about “communities being left behind” into, well, the river! At its core, is a belief in people, a romanticism in their lives, a song writing trait that has drifted away in recent times.  

The sound of the underdog is so often, one of kicking and screaming at injustice (and quite right too). Here though, they’ve bypassed that and gone straight to euphoric victory. It’s a Sunday league football win, it’s a prank on your best mate. This is the re-emergence of believing in ordinary people and ordinary things as the greatest subject matter on earth.

 *Artwork by Ana Ban Ana

https://www.facebook.com/anabananabanica/

https://www.instagram.com/ana_ban_ana_illustration/

http://www.colorhood.com/anabanana

Pink Lemonade - Space Girl

As the weather turns bitter, the enticement levels need to go up to venture outside. Thank heavens for Pink Lemonade. The three piece from Cambridge have just released their debut single ‘Space Girl’ and, if this doesn’t get your DM’s laced up for the winter nights, nothing will.

Put simply, this is perfect pop music! Vocal melodies akin to the criminally underrated Pipettes and a riff from the cheer leading gods. This is pure hairbrush (Lynx Africa for the boys) sing along in the mirror stuff.

*Image courtesy of the band

Strange Cages – Silver Queen

In September, Brighton’s Strange Cages released their second EP, ‘Silver Queen’ via the record label of the moment, Vallance Records (home to Sisteray, Beach Riot and False Heads).

Sleazy garage-psyche music, is too often devoid of emotion and passion. Too often a display of self-indulgence and mass ego. Well, Strange Cages, with influences indebted to Iggy, Toy, Neu and The Horrors are hell bent on bucking that trend.

Despite the hallmarks of the past in play, Strange Cages have found ways to make this EP relevant to 2018. There are the pop machinations of Blossoms and Goldfrapp shining through the synths on ‘The Leeches, the Fakers’. Meanwhile, ‘Children of the Gutter’ is a lost single of their peers Cabbage.

‘False Prophet Death Waltz’ and ‘Lasers of Joy’ are not the sounds of sane men. Psychotic and hullucagenic, thee early fire of the The Horrors is in full force. ‘Meanwhile, ‘Sick With Desire’ throbs like The Stooges one minute before seguing into the more beautiful moments of Syd Barrett’s Floyd era.

Ultimately, Strange Cages are a band with a clear direction and clear influences but not yet their own distinct style. It won’t stop you returning to the record but, the sense the sense that something truly great can come from this band lingers in the air.

Trampolene – The One Who Loves You

Although The Libertines career is not yet done, when you look back, the one thing that halted them from mega stardom was that one single, a ‘Wonderwall’ or ’If You Tolerate This…’ . The type the of hit that X Factor zombies couldn’t deny. Welsh underdogs Trampolene, whose soul is inextricably linked to The Libertines, have returned with that single, ‘The One Who Loves You’.

Is there a purer soul walking this divided kingdom of ours than Jack Jones at present? If this were the late 18th and early 19th century, Jones would be lauded as a romantic poet. In 2018, he is kicked into the margins and forced to scrap his way out of the gutter.

Scrap away he does and, on this unrequited love anthem, Jones has delivered a single that shouldn’t but inevitably will be ignored by day time radio, the break they truly deserve. Find me a teenage boy who wouldn’t cling to this song as they obsess over the girl they’re to shy to talk to, and we’ll drive them to therapy to work on their sociopathic tendencies.

Methods – Mankind

Methods, a five piece hailing from Wolverhampton and Salford have their roots indebted to Depeche Mode and New Order. Big shoes to fill.

On their new single 'Mankind', they have taken a leap into their hero’s world, with a spirit to stoke the fires of this sound once more. The archetypal Peter Hook bass from Adam Hall syncs up with the lush and expansive synths from Jon Nash to create their own dystopia. After darkness must come light, that killer hook isn’t quite there but, there are chinks of light here to get excited about.

Ash Bradley's vocal, sitting between Interpol's Paul Banks and a more aggressive version of Dave Gahan, keeps ‘Mankind’ hovering above a nuclear button. Bradley is awash with danger and fury.

All hail the darkness!

Artwork by Dan Crew:

Twitter: @DanCrewAnimate

Instagram: @DanCrewAnimate

Sad Boys Club - Silverlined

Ever listened to the 1975 and seriously questioned their substance? Well, don’t bother anymore. Listen to Sad Boys Club instead. Their infectious Cure driven pop music may edge towards middle of road but is always a comfortable distance away.

The new single from the Crouch End outfit has that distinct Springsteen open road escape to it, similar their former label mates The Crookes in many ways. The pop breeziness of the music is the perfect metaphor for this tail of putting up social barriers to who we really are.

With a new EP due November 2nd, Sad Boys Club are surely going to be garnering a lot of interest this winter on this showing.

Calva Louise - I Heard A Cry

With a support slot lined up for The Blinders tour and their debut album due out February next year, the London three piece have a =big 6months ahead. Kicking things of is their new single ‘I Heard A Cry’.

Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell raising the bar for what alternative pop music can be, front woman Jess Allanic is right on her heels with this vocal. Where Rowsell is fuelled with angst, Allanic has a wryness to her approach but is no less impactful.

With the spirit of Sub Pop Records in their hearts, Calva Louise have ignited their quest for glory in style!

You Can pre-order the album here:

 https://www.musicglue.com/calvalouise/merch-debut-album

Death Valley Girls - (One Less Thing) Before I Die

A big contender for single of the year comes from the LA five piece Death Valley Girls. Released on Friday 5th October on the Suicide Squeeze label, this is one minute fifty seconds of blood sweat and venomous victory!

There is a distinct flavour of Johnny Marr’s 3 solo albums here. Those big distorted but, insanely catchy riffs are firing out like desperate warning sirens. They’ve created a real sense of chase and escape on arguably the most immediate record of the year. Danger is coming for them and they couldn’t give a fuck.

Lusts - True Romance

The psychedelic brothers are back and, their blend of motorik and New Order has hit the ground running. Their groove of psychedelic pop music is becoming indelible on the grey UK landscapes of this decade.

 'True Romance' steers Lusts towards the fine work of Sumner and Marr's Electronic era. With the melodic ease of 'Forbidden City', it swirls away like a hazy festival afternoon. What is setting it back from Electronic's greatness are those killer hooks. Neil Tennant's vocal on the chorus of 'Disappointed' or the melancholic melody and power of Marr's synth work on 'Forbidden City' have echoed down the ages. 'True Romance', doesn’t quite grab that brass ring.

 For most, to be mentioned in the same breath as Tennant, Sumner and Marr is enough. For Lusts, we suspect they want more. The talent is clearly their, could this autumns new album be the one?

The Assist - Lost

So often, when a guitar movement sparks to life, it’s closely followed by one intrinsically linked to dance music. After C86 came Acid House which spurned The Farm’s ‘Spartacus’, the Primals’ ‘Screamdelica’ and The Mondays’  ‘Pills Thrills and Bellyaches’ albums. As the Arctic Monkeys cashed in on The Libertines’ demise, Bloc Party opened up a world of possibilities, combining guitars with Breaks from the Balearics.

 As punkadelia gets into full swing with The Blinders and Cabbage both releasing albums, Walsall’s The Assist, have fired the first shot to open guitars up to the escapist climates of Ibiza once more.

 ‘All I Need’ combines a soulful Sean McGowan meets Jack Penate vocal with floaty riffs and a brand of psyche music which oozes “love”. The perfect pop antidote to the punkadelic dystopia. Their reflection of the confusion and isolation of their early 20’s will be felt by this generation perhaps more than any previous. It’s this level of detail and substance which could catapult them to the bosom of the UK.

 The aged old story of boredom and yearning for escape, continually provides the platform for bands to spring off. On ‘Exist’, they add themselves to this long list and, if it was good enough for Blur, Hard-Fi and The Enemy, it’s good enough for anyone.

 Much like Sisteray, they are hell bent on reviving the classic sounds of 00s bands who have been too often overlooked for their influence. They’re taking the psyche and funk of early The Twang further than their Midlands counterparts ever dared on ‘Love’.

 With their feet in the recent past, many may question is this the originality needed to drive guitars back to the mainstream consciousness. However, when a spirit is this pure and driven, ignore it at your peril.

The Black Roses - El Diablo

In May, London's Black Roses opened up for the mighty Trampolene at the Scala. This weekend, they return with their new single 'El Diablo', will this be the first step on the road to headlining such a prestigious venue?

To date, their singles have been a series of charismatic indie rock numbers, inspired by the heavier side of Arctic Monkeys. 'El Diablo' however, sees them in a new twisted groove. The wobbles on the guitar lend themselves to Pil, The Cure and The Horrors.

The haunting chorus of “Struggling /To be perfect /Those Nights / Are they worth it?” heightens this new found style. The need to be heard and loved colliding with futility of life is delivered, with an alluring aloofness by frontman Anthony Johnson. It raises more questions than it answers which, in an age of social media all but eroding rock musics mystique, is a welcome return.

Slow building songs need that moment of release or euphoria. Between Stevenson and fellow guitarist Richard Jones, they provide a solo to do just that. As they watched The Blinders at the Borderline recently, you wonder whether their light bulbs flickered. The Blinders and Cabbage's sense of depravity consumes this solo but, Black Roses have provided a mid paced clarity to it. Oddly, removing the Eoghan Clifford (Cabbage) and Thomas Haywood's penchant for violence lifts 'El Diablo' into an eerier realm. Like Alice from Luther, no matter how disturbing she gets, the appeal only grows.

As the groundswell of new bands grows in 2018, The Black Roses have gone from solid support act to big players with this new direction.

Model Society – Public Service

Model Society first emerged in 2011. Passion and promise were apparent and, like many before and since, their influences were on their sleeve but their own clarity was yet to be defined. They had Blur's wry social comment, Oasis' sense of ambition and Buzzcocks punk via pop delivery.

On the comeback single, premiered by the legendary John Kennedy on Radio X, Model Society have merged their heroes. Lyrically, Damon Albarn's observations have aligned Noel Gallagher's melody and retained the bite of Pete Shelly. For the most part, the sweeping rock n roll production intrinsic to Noel's career combines with a punk sentiment but, during the solo, the more expansive elements of punk (Television & Spear of Destiny) shine brightest.

This is not a single normally associated with a band yet to release their debut album. This is three albums in stuff. It's a huge cinematic piece which serves both as a clarion call and blissful liberation simultaneously.

Theatre Royal - All Fall Forward / Better Say Goodbye

“Not everyone grows up to be an astronaut / Not everyone was born to be a king / Not everyone can be, Freddy Mercury......but on the day die I'll say at least I fucking tried”

Eulogy, Frank Turner, 2011

Four albums in, Kent's Theatre Royal are well established without being, well established. They have honed a Go-Betweens via the classic Medway of their forefathers. Their back catalogue is littered with “should have been” alternative pop singles. Alas, it hasn't happened.

Undeterred, the Medway boys are back and at it again with their new double a-side. 'All Fall Forward' chronicles theirs and, many other bands plight at present. The lack of chance and backing available, their discourse of “takes us nowhere / nowhere fast” seems all the more resounding.

'Better Say Goodbye' has a directness and an effortless that newcomers will undoubtedly say “haven't heard tunes like this for a while”. Whilst the sun still shines, the free flowing guitars allow for that extra spring in the step.

Both tracks fleeting and light of touch, the romance of Kerouac's 'On The Road' is almost tangible. The underdogs capture his yearning for something meaningful in this life. Their quest, for now, is beset with the tragedy of almost but not quite. With John Kennedy and Steve Lamacq onside, that breakthrough is surely imminent.

All Fall Forward / Better Say Goodbye, an album by Theatre Royal on Spotify