1. “Time’s A Wastin” by June Carter & Carl Smith (covered in the movie Walk The Line)

2. “Elevator Love Letter” Acoustic by Stars:

3. “Your Control” by Crooked Fingers:

4. “Birds and Bees” by Ben Lee & Mandy Moore:

5. “Death to Los Campesinos!” by Los Campesinos!:

So I decided to put together a mix for today… that Tofurky isn’t going to cook itself and I thought it would be good to have a mix for while we’re cooking (OK… admittedly I’m going to be mostly drinking and getting in Chandi’s way while she cooks). After I put the mix together I decided that I was pretty happy with it so I thought that I would put it up here in the spirit of sharing.

It’s really more a sampling of a some things, old and new, that I have been listening to lately and less a Thanksgiving mix. However, I tried to keep it mostly upbeat, so hopefully it will be a good mix for cooking/hanging out/enjoying a day off. Hope you enjoy it.

1. Pop / Ben Barnett (from Songs About Zombies and Trust Issues)
2. Give Me Back My Heart Attack / Land of Talk (from Some Are Lakes)
3. Happens To Us All Otherwise / Bound Stems (from The Family Afloat)
4. Anna / Hello Saferide (from More Modern Short Stories from Hello Saferide)
5. Through My Gloves / Forest Fire (from Survival)
6. Fake Blues / Real Estate (from Fake Blues/Green River 7″)
7. Try To Think About Me (Don’t Worry A Bit) / Herman Dune (from Next Year in Zion)
8. Changes Are No Good / The Stills (from Logic Will Break Your Heart)
9. Drop It Doe Eyes / Los Campesinos! (from Hold on Now, Youngster…)
10. Barnacle Goose / Born Ruffians (from Red, Yellow and Blue)
11. Four Long Days / Voxtrot (from Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives)
12. A Trenchant Critique / Owen (from New Leaves)
13. Into The Stream / The Tallest Man on Earth (from Shallow Graves)
14. Sex Bodies / Matthew Hemerlein (from EP 2)
15. Stopped Signs / A Wonderful (from Uncorked Understandings)
16. Friends They Are Jewels / Iron and Wine (from Around the Well)

Again, I really hope you like it. And please, if there is anything above that you haven’t heard and really like go buy their lp/disc from your favorite independent record store… or better yet go see the band live and buy it from them.

Some of the UK’s finest indie acts, including Sky Larkin, Slow Club, Los Campesinos!, James Yuill and Dananananaykroyd have joined together to release a Christmas single in aid of the RSPCA. Penned by Bright Light Bright Light’s Rod Thomas and BBC Radio 1 Wales producer Jen Long – collectively known as HUNKS – the single also features members of Copy Haho, Sound Of Arrows, Airborne Toxic Event and The Venus Stare, not to mention Bright Light Bright Light himself. Out December 14 through Thomas’s own label Self Raising Records, HUNKS & Friends’ ‘The Magic Of Christmas’ is a tongue in cheek pop number that’s not afraid to assert that “Everything’s awesome at Christmas” with blithe cynicism. Buy it for the animal lover in your life.

Meanwhile, ever-reliable DIY label Cherryade Records have done it again with their latest compilation, A Very Cherry Christmas 5, and by ‘it’ we mean stuffed the disc full of enough wry humour and offbeat lyricism to keep us laughing right through to Whitsunday and beyond. Released last week, this fifth instalment of the label’s annual favourite has a whopping 25 songs, including brand new recordings from the likes of Allo Darlin’, Das Wanderlust, Shrag, The Bobby McGee’s and Sparky’s Magic Piano, plus a chance to revisit previous successes from the preceding four albums, like The Lovely Eggs’ ‘Tyrannosaurus Rex For Christmas’ and Tiger MCs’ ‘The Way That You Arrived’. A Very Cherry Christmas 5 is priced at £6, and there’s a limited offer on over at the Cherryade website where you can get volumes 1–5 all for a tidy sum of £18 + £2 P&P. It’s the perfect present for anyone who likes their stocking stuffed with fun.

Alan Pedder

So I was on Stereomood earlier and found this band and have just been all about them today so check them out.! Get them big in the states so I can go see them somewhere!

Dear Roommate Agatha,

You were right–Kiwi, Fig, Brie and Bacon don’t go well together.

Love,
Allie.

P.S. But in certain combinations, they can be delicious (especially with buttery puff pastry!)

Inspired by a recipe from cooktobang.com, I decided to make my own variation on the Kiwi Melt-In-Your-Mouth. I will say that the actual recipe has a few too many ingredients for my taste–I’m not sure that I love the combination of bacon and kiwi, but it was worth a try. Here’s what happened with this recipe:

I bought a package of frozen puff pastry shells from Shaws on sale for…, bacon on sale for…, kiwis on sale for…, brie on sale for…, and dried figs for full price (sadface). I tried making fig jam with it, but that just failed miserably, so for this, I just used the rest of the dried figs.

I put the pastry shells in the oven as directed on the box. When they were done puffing, I took a fork and lifted the centers out. (The centers are buttery and crusty. I definitely ate them with some leftover kiwi slices). For the pastries, I tried a few combinations:

Bacon (cook it first) and brie
Kiwi, fig and brie
Kiwi, fig, bacon and brie (the flavors clashed a little)

After you’ve filled the centers with kiwi, fig and/or bacon, put a slice of brie on top and pop the tray back in the oven for 5 minutes. It’ll melt the cheese and warm the fruit. When they come out give them 2 minutes to cool and serve.

The first two were delicous. Both could easily be a fatty breakfast food to start off your Thanksgiving morning (when you wake up at 8AM to cook that massive turkey!). The Bacon and Brie were the more savory of the appetizers and I felt stuffed after eating only one (or, I’ll admit it, two…). The fruit ones were delicious and lighter and were a nice compliment to the bacon pastries. I’d suggest making both together so your guests, roommates, or family will have a choice.

Roommate Agatha liked the fruit ones. Roommate Kristin would probably like the bacon ones. This was a great idea. Kind of fatty-but great!

Los Campesinos! – Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks
Los Campesinos! – Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks (2008)
Los Campesinos! – Death to Los Campesinos

I don’t speak Spanish, but apparently “campesinos” translates to “peasants” in English. Los Campesinos! is a 7-piece pop band from Wales and their lead singer is adorably awkward when you see them live. You may be wondering to yourself, “why did she post the same song twice? Is that a mistake?” No it is not! I have two versions of the song from two different times. I haven’t been able to track down the year for the first one, but I’m pretty sure it’s the demo version.

I’m not sure which I prefer. I think I may actually like the demo better, even though it’s a little rougher. What do you think? Which song do you prefer? Which puff pastry melt do you prefer?

“I’ve got the world on a string/What a world, what a life–I’m in love”

When I finished my first year with an astounding 3.97 GPA, my honors adviser hailed my entrance into her office like I was some sort of prodigal child. She beamed at me, asked me a million questions, where I was going in life, what I wanted to do (with those grades, I apparently could do anything). She shoved information sheets on scholarships I should apply to, honors courses I would be fascinated in, and even a packet about the requirements and benefits of becoming a Rhodes Scholars after I graduated. I smiled bashfully, made chit-chat, and patted myself on the should for what a valuable asset I was to the University. They made the right choice accepting me, and now they were bearing the fruit of their labor.

Looking back since that overly chipper part of my life, it’s apparent that there has been a serious lack of continued effort on somebody’s part. Most of the blame most definitely falls upon me. I rarely if ever attend lectures, I never seem to get all the required assignments done, and I put the least amount of effort into what I actually need to do for the sole reason that I can get back to my agenda–laying on my ass, reading, listening to music, or doing all three. I also have a fine proclivity towards getting drunk with a few other degenerates and enjoy taking smoke breaks during the middle of the few lectures I actually attend (if you’ve never tried it, that mid-class nicotine buzz is a great pick-me-up).

As absurd as such a lifestyle is, as much of a recipe for academic disaster it should be, I have never done poorly in school, even after I gave up somewhere around the end of sophomore year. My lowest grade so far is a B-, and that occurred only once. Within my major I still maintain a 3.92 GPA despite my every effort to fail out of school. How is this happening? In what sick, twisted world can a man with as little motivation as me perform so well while others who work themselves into oblivion never seem to be able to claw there way up in the world. How does that make any sense whatsoever, on any level? If life had any coherence at all, I would be picking up quarters in the sewers to get my next meth fix while that nice gentleman who works every day of his life at the grocery store should be lounging in a seaside villa somewhere. That is how things should work. Fortunately for me, this is not the case, and I get the luxury of living in absurd comfort while being showered with praise for my supposed efforts in school from friends and family.

As selfish as it may sound, I really don’t believe I am at fault for my obscene laziness. I used to try, and I tried damned hard. School used to be my life, something I took genuine pleasure in. I had friends then too, I was no nerd by any stretch of the word, but I truly enjoyed to waste away my weekday reading up on Little Albert, the symptomatologies of the DSM-IV TR, and the intricacies of the dopaminergic reward system in the prefrontal cortex  (I am a psychology major if you haven’t figured out by now–God help you if I actually achieve my license one day).

But then…something changed. I wanted to learn more and more, but the academic world wasn’t giving it to me. All my classes seemed to have far too much overlap, and the material was so simplistic that there wasn’t even a need to be taught. Since I didn’t need to be taught, why go to lecture? Why care? I started questioning my smart decision to go to college and pay thousands of dollars to learn what I could learn by myself for the relatively cheap price of a few textbooks. To be honest, I haven’t really found an answer besides the overly cynical and childish “The only point of college is to get a sheet of paper to validate yourself!” It’s not adequate, to me at least. There must be another actual reason. But that is a musing for another time.

“And this sentimental movie marathon has taught us one thing/The opposite of true love is as follows: Reality!

I guess what I’m saying in the end is that I’m a fraud who was created, not born. When I entered college, I was an optimistic idealist who had the world on a string, a potential Rhodes Scholar who could “make big waves in the next few years,” as my overly zestful adviser said to me. It did sting when one day, after I got grades back and received my first B, she didn’t mention that I should look for that scholarship. That black stain on my record ruined my opportunity at excellence, at least for her. And probably a little bit for me too. It was the final excuse to just give up, quit. What was the point anymore? Should I just bust my ass to get somewhere I can just as easily get by doing next to nothing? As much as it truly and deeply saddens me, this is the perspective I had accepted into my worldview. Gone in the that young adult in love with the world of academia and grinning ear to ear at his next 10 years of it getting a PhD, now replaced with a demoralized realist who dreads the long road ahead of him.

Los Campesinos! are proud to announce the title and track listing of their forthcoming album.  ‘Romance Is Boring’ will be released 1st February 2010. through Wichita Recordings. The single ‘There Are Listed Buildings’ which is currently available exclusively on the band’s UK tour dates, will precede it, on the 2nd November 2009.

The track listing is as follows:

In Medias Res
There Are Listed Buildings
Romance Is Boring
We’ve Got Your Back (Documented Minor Emotional Breakdown #2)
Plan A
200 – 102
Straight In At 101
Who Fell Asleep In
I Warned You: Do Not Make An Enemy Of Me
Heart Swells/100-1
I Just Sighed. I Just Sighed, Just So You Know
A Heat Rash In The Shape Of The Show Me State; or, Letters From Me To Charlotte
The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future
This Is A Flag. There Is No Wind
Coda: A Burn Scar In The Shape Of The Sooner State

“Romance is Boring” was recorded and mixed between March and June of 2009 in Seattle, Connecticut and Monmouthshire with producer John Goodmanson. It features guest appearances from Jamie Stewart, Zac Pennington and Jherek Bischoff.

The album also reveals the bands first experiments with brass and far wider instrumentation than they have employed before and according to the band is a record “about the death and decay of the human body, lost love, mental breakdown, and football.”

Romance is boring will be released on Febary 1st 2010 on Wichita recordings.

For more information on Los Campesinos! check out their website here or their myspace here.

Y es que, después del Booooom!, siempre viene la calma de desconcierto, ¿que hacemos?¿a donde vamos? Que les pasa a casi todos los grupos que empiezan bien, y todo lo demás es cuesta abajo, Los Campesinos! Se confundieron bastante y sacaron un segundo , muy penoso que no llegaba ni a cuarta parte de su maravilloso debut.

Pero, han vuelto. De hecho, nunca se fueron del todo, colaboraciones, giras y cuatrocientosmil demos para su tercer disco, y ahora se embarcan en un gira en la que prometen que revelarán gran parte de sus temas, que esperan ser grabados y publicados la primera mitad del 2010. Si, parece que el día va de regresos.

Con lo que estos chicos me hicieron brincar, no seria justo dejarles de lado y no esperar su tercero como si del primero se tratara.

Y es que, después del Booooom!, siempre viene la calma de desconcierto, ¿que hacemos?¿a donde vamos? Que les pasa a casi todos los grupos que empiezan bien, y todo lo demás es cuesta abajo, Los Campesinos! Se confundieron bastante y sacaron un segundo , muy penoso que no llegaba ni a cuarta parte de su maravilloso debut.

Pero, han vuelto. De hecho, nunca se fueron del todo, colaboraciones, giras y cuatrocientosmil demos para su tercer disco, y ahora se embarcan en un gira en la que prometen que revelarán gran parte de sus temas, que esperan ser grabados y publicados la primera mitad del 2010. Si, parece que el día va de regresos.

Con lo que estos chicos me hicieron brincar, no seria justo dejarles de lado y no esperar su tercero como si del primero se tratara.

I’m sure you guys are already pretty sick of my constant gushing about Clockenflap. But what transpired on the open lawns of Cyberport this past weekend was something extraordinary, something amazing. I saw the people of Hong Kong, who we normally typecast as cynical, austere conservatives, get up on their feet and dance and howl and scream. I saw a crowd full of people transformed. I saw the awesome power of music in action — and, despite its many bells and whistles, Clockenflap is just that: a music festival. I was only there for the first day, but that was more than enough to leave a lasting impression. (Added bonus: bumping into Rudy for some crazy good conversation!)

When we first arrived on the scene, I was pretty skeptical: it was like every single hipster in Hong Kong had congregated in one place. We were greeted by a sea of thick-framed plastic glasses, men with Cavour-level facial hair, and people drinking fine wine out of plastic cups. Nowhere else in HK would you be able to see such a pretentious gathering — but Clockenflap made it happen. I was disappointed to see that most people were merely chilling on the grass engaged in chit-chat about god knows what. Local bands were playing, but failed to rile the crowd for the rest of the lazy afternoon. The only people up and dancing (albeit awkwardly) were a mojito-guzzling bald man with a somewhat creepy resemblance to Mr. Marcus and a woman wearing a skirt with a person’s face printed on it.

Like fine wine, however, the day got better as time passed. The first group to get people standing up was homegrown art rock band Chochukmo, blessed with a frontman who could actually sing. I don’t know why, but the way he inflects his voice reminds me a little bit of a Canto Alex Turner (singer for the Arctic Monkeys). Infectiously catchy backbeats met playful driving rhythms, and the long-haired rockers soon drew in a minor crowd. They’ll be playing at Grappa’s Cellar on the 28th to promote their new album… do check them out.

“Love is Dead” by Pet Conspiracy

Next in the lineup were Beijing electro rockers Pet Conspiracy in what was probably one of the best live performances I’ve seen. Their creed? “Real dance music should draw blood.” Despite having never heard their music before, we were all instantly hooked by the band’s unique sound, raw energy, and crazy stage antics. The entire performance was intoxicating, orgiastic, mind-blowing. Every riff or chord — hellfire. The lead singer was literally wrapping the mic around her own body in a stroke of hot S&M bondage-type shit. By the end of it, she was dripping wet in cheap beer, glorious sideboob exposed to the world. The lyrics were just as explicit; notable lines included “I’ll give my pink to you” and “Don’t you move / Stay inside me”. To the delight of the frenzied crowd, the onstage outrageousness finally culminated in a make-out between the two male members of the band (right after Audrey commented on how hot the drummer was)… definitely an act worth listening to.

But where Pet Conspiracy was the unexpected surprise, Hot Chip frontman Alexis Taylor was the unexpected disappointment. His DJ set wasn’t even fully finished. After half an hour, he stopped trying and just played random music (including 50 Cent, LOL) without even attempting to mix them. No matter, though — we found a new source of entertainment: mockingly singing the opening lyrics to Ready for the Floor (DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT NOW) over any and every song that played.

Death to Los Campesinos! by Los Campesinos! (download)

Finally, the main event of the night — Los Campesinos! were up next. This was a special first for me… never before had I seen a band I genuinely liked in concert. Now I could actually sing along with the lyrics (though I was severely outclassed by some local who must be the Campesinos’ biggest diehard fan in Hong Kong — he was getting a little bit too into it, and knew every single song, to boot!) The performance was awesome as expected, albeit dangerous. People nearby were crowdsurfing and bumping into one another. A guy behind us, clearly drunk as shit, was jumping around and flailing about with a bottle of wine in one hand. They had to call out the big guys to restrain the crowd. I thought that only happened in movies. At one point, frontman Gareth Campesinos even called a guy in the crowd a “dickhead”, LOL. After that, it was all smooth sailing and good music. Personal favorite? Knee Deep at ATP. In unrelated news, “Campesinos” no longer looks like a word to me.

But yeah — long story short, if good music should draw blood, I for one had a bloody good time. Oh, and a photo with Tom Campesinos… BRAGGING RIGHTS, BETCHES! I’ll definitely be the first to get my hands on Clockenflap tickets next year. Hope to see more HKIS-ers then! From here on out, the festival can only get bigger and better. Sadly, I wasn’t able to go on the second day due to HiMCM, but the others tell me that Yacht was wicked fun as well. To compensate, I’ll finish off this post with a relevant track. Enjoy:

Psychic City (Classixx Remix Fabio Pop Dancefloor Rework) by Yacht (download)

We disliked them before we liked them. Now we like them. Now they have a new single out, called There Are Listed Buildings. It is an advance track from the forthcoming LP, Romance is Boring, which we will no doubt like.

Ladies and gentlemen, Los Campesinos!

November 7, 2009: Clockenflap Music & Arts Festival, Cyberport, HK.

Lesson #1: Being a rock and roll portrait photographer, while seemingly glamorous, would be a freaking tough job.
Lesson #2: Bring extra batteries for your point and shoot camera. Always.
Lesson #3:  Los Campesinos! rock.

I am really lacking in portrait photography skills… so to try to do this while at a music festival was rather ambitious. I actually got another shot of two of the musicians from this band and the composition is awesome… but there is too much shit going on in the background, so, no. Anyhow, this was my best effort as the batteries died leaving me to dance without objectives or objections for the rest of the evening. I believe this is Gareth….

You can tell the recession’s almost over when quite a few of Wonderful Noise’s very favourite tune makers are heading off on tour soon.

Dates for Vampire Weekend, Los Campesinos!, Andrew Bird and Jenny Owen Youngs/Regina Spektor after the JUMP!…

Vampire Weekend are back in the country to tour around their forthcoming album Contra in February…

Sun 7th – CAMBRIDGE, Corn Exchange

Mon 8th – MANCHESTER, Apollo

Tues 9th – LEEDS, O2 Academy

Wed 10th – BIRMINGHAM, O2 Academy

Fri 12th – NEWCASTLE, O2 Academy

Sat 13th – GLASGOW, Barrowlands

Sun 14th – EDINBURGH, Picture House

Tues 16th – LONDON, O2 Academy Brixton (SOLD OUT but just announced is…)

Wed 17th – LONDON, O2 Academy Brixton

Los Campesinos! are dragging around in February/March too – it’s going to be a busy gig month for us!…

February

Thurs 11 – WREXHAM, Central Station

Fri 12 – LIVERPOOL, Evol@O2

Sat 13 – YORK, Fibbers

Mon 15 – ABERDEEN, Tunnels

Tues 16 – DUNDEE, Dog House

Wed 17 – EDINBURGH, Bongo

Thurs 18 – DERBY, The Venue

Fri19 – LEICESTER, The Musician

Sun 21 – CAMBRIDGE, Junction

Tues 23 – BRIGHTON, Audio New Slang Night

Mon 22 – NORWICH, Arts Centre

Wed 24 – PORTSMOUTH, Wedgewood Rooms

Thurs 25 – LONDON, Koko

Fri 26 – FALMOUTH, Princess Pavilion

Sat 27 – BRISTOL, Thekla

March

Mon 1 – BIRMINGHAM, The Rainbow

Tues 2 – NORTHAMPTON, Roadmender

Wed 3 – READING, Plug & Play

Thurs 4 – KINGSTON, Banquet New Slang

Andrew Bird dates are, er, actually already sold out but if you want to head on over to eBay/seatwave then he’s playing Tues and Wed Nov 10th and 11th at the Union Chapel in London. Totally worth the investment.

You know we love Jenny Owen Youngs and she’ll be supporting none other than the inimitable Regina Spektor on the following UK dates in Nov/Dec. WE LOVE HER, WE DO (though we do think it’s high time she had another tour to herself)…

Mon 30 – BIRMINGHAM, O2 Academy

Tues 1 – GLASGOW – O2 Academy

Thurs 3 – MANCHESTER – Appollo

Fri 4 – LONDON – Hammersmith Appollo

Actually, this post has very little (and by that I mean absolutely nothing) to do with Calvin Harris. It’s more of an update from my so-called “real life” and this upcoming weekend — all in all, dauntingly eventful. Saturday morning I’m taking the SAT I for the second time… hoping to break the 2300 mark, fingers crossed. After that, it’s over to Cyberport for Clockenflap… I’m so freakin’ hyped, looking forward to seeing Alexis Taylor and Los Campesinos! live.

Then, I’ll be pinballing to Justin Hui’s place for this year’s HIMCM (math modeling competition) with Gillian and Larry; essentially, 36 consecutive hours of insanity and mathematics. With that timing, we’ll end slightly before noon on Monday. I’m still debating whether I should go back to school afterward (to take two quizzes), but either way, this weekend is going to be a claustrophobic few days with little room to breathe.

Because of all this, I may not be able to update the blog for the next few days (though knowing my newfound addiction, I’ll likely cave sooner or later). But please look through some of the older posts, leave a comment or two, and most importantly, subscribe to the blog! My FeedBurner is crying! Expect to hear from me sometime soon.

Although its been bouncing around on YouTube and the blogosphere for weeks, today saw the official release of “There are Listed Buildings,” the first single from Los Campesinos!’ impending album Romance Is Boring. I am nothing if not a huge Los Campesinos! fan, and I’ve been following them since I heard Sticking Fingers Into Sockets – EP came out all the way back during the Bush Administration. If “There Are Listed Buildings” is any indication, the band hasn’t slowed down at all.

“There Are Listed Buildings” is pretty standard Los Campesinos! starting with a Built to Spill-esque guitar line before exploding with horns and “ba-ba” vocals. The song is accelerated by a thundering bassline and the typically energetic drums and it reaches a nice crecendo. Of the top of my head, I can’t think of any other LC! songs that use horns, but they add to the mayhem here. You may also notice the absence of Aleks Campesinos, the superego to Gareth Campesinos’ yelpy id.  She has moved onto greener pastures, but the band’s new singer, Kim, doesn’t miss a beat and if you aren’t listening close you probably won’t notice the difference. (Blogger’s Note: I’ve been informed by @loscampesinos that Aleks is still on the record, which explains why I couldn’t notice a difference. My bad, everyone.) Instead its Gareth’s vocals that sound a little different, his voice deeper, more matured and confident. Mike and I have a couple friends who hate Los Campesinos! because of the lead vocals who might not be as turned off by his voice on this song.

Lyrically, the band hasn’t missed a beat, with gems like “I remember being naked to my waist though not in which direction” and “we are two atheists in lust, we gotta make our own luck.” The song depicts a fleeting summer relationship but lines like “And oh, I am a glutton for love, can you give me some romance? I’m a glutton for sin” transcend the “Summer Nights” storyline.

“There Are Listed Buildings” is a solid first single that showcases the energy and with that Los Campesinos! have become known for. Taken with “The Sea Is A Good Place to Think About the Future” (a bit of a darker departure both sonically and lyrically), it promises another excellent record from one of my favorite bands.

P.S. According to Wikipeida, a listed building is a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural significance. So there you go.

Jonah’s Score: 89
Mike’s Score: 81

Tangled Up In Wires Grade: A

Recebi certos elogios pela primeira edição da Compilação Mágica e alguns pedidos de ‘’mais uma vez’’, rs. Então fiz outra seleção de mais doze artistas diferentes para que talvez pudesse refinar a variedade e gosto musical de cada um – to me achando né? Bem, trouxe hoje do eletro, dance ao pop de sempre e o velho folk que trás sentimentos relaxantes. Espero que gostem

Aqui para download a II Compilação Mágica       Download

Playlist:

(Sŵn) Festival…

I have just had an amazing weekend at (Sŵn) Festival. For those non-Welsh amongst you it is not pronounced swan. Or swun. Or even swyn. I had to find this out for myself by vaguely moderating the way I pronounced it while searching for tickets, as each time I was answered with stifled sniggering.  It is, in fact, pronounced like soon. Just so you know for future reference…

So, (Sŵn) is the festival curated by the wonderful Huw Stephens, of BBC Radio 1 fame. Huw and John Rostron started (Sŵn) back in 2007 because they had been to many festivals around the world and decided that Cardiff needed one of its own. The idea? To celebrate great new music: dubstep and folk, hip hop and rock, indie and electronica and everything in between. Their main aims were to highlight bands from Cardiff, showcase bands in Wales that sing in Welsh and in English, and then to welcome bands from around the globe.

(Sŵn) Curator Huw Stephens!

This year, in (Sŵn)’s third incarnation, the festival spanned three days and sprawled across 12 different venues around the city. As well as 170 bands and DJs, there were also workshops, seminars, a (Sŵn) Pop Quiz, Wales’ largest Silent Disco, (Sŵn) Mo Wrestling, (Sŵn) Bingo and an Oxjam second-hand record fayre. Awesome.

Aimed largely at students and Cardiff’s scenesters, the wristbands cost £45 for the whole three days, or £17 for each individual day. Not only did these wristbands get you into all 12 venues to see whatever bands whenever you wanted (subject to capacity of course), it also got you into all the late night DJ sets around the city, from Big Scary Monsters on Friday to Moshi Moshi DJs on Saturday. And if you didn’t want to go to a whole weekend/day’s worth of music (and why wouldn’t you?) then individual venues were selling gig tickets on the door for about a tenner, so there was no excuse not to catch some of (Sŵn)’s many offerings over the weekend…

Here are some of my waffling opinions/reviews/highlights of the few bands and events that I managed to catch over the Friday and Saturday. Apologies in advance for the rather shoddy quality of the video footage… my camera isn’t the best in the world, and most of the time I was either dancing about or getting smashed into by sweaty boys. Nice.

(Apologies also for the complete lack of videos… WordPress is currently not letting me put any up, grrr…)

FRIDAY October 23…

Johnny Foreigner- Clwb Ifor Bach 9.00- 10.00.

(Sŵn) Verdict: Johnny Foreigner are basically what goes on inside a kid’s head as he opens his birthday presents, frantically ripping off the paper in a hyperactive joyful frenzy. Feverish, infectious fun…

Clwb Ifor Bach, or The Welsh Club (or just Clwb) as it’s known to the non-Welsh residents of Cardiff (try getting your mouth around Y Fuwch Goch, a club opposite, after a few pints…), plays some of the best music around Cardiff, so I was rather happy that there were gigs occurring here, especially as it’s not stupidly big so you can actually see. There are four different levels, so while one band was setting up on one floor, another was playing, which was rather cool as there wasn’t much hanging around in between gigs.

Johnny Foreigner headlined the night, presented by Fear & Records versus Big Scary Monsters, after earlier sets from Exit International, Talons, You Animals and Decimals. First of all I would just like to point out that Johnny Foreigner is not a solo artist, they are a band. And no-one in the band is called Johnny either… Having been compared to the likes of Bloc Party and The Pixies, Johnny Foreigner are Birmingham-based indie/rock trio by the names of Alexei Berrow (lead guitarist/vocalist), Kelly Southern (bassist/vocals) and Junior Elvis Washington Laidley (drums). The band played their first gig in December 2005, and got signed in the autumn of 2007. Since then, they have released two albums, Waited Up Til It Was Light in June 2008 and Grace And The Bigger Picture which was released earlier this month. The band appear to be constantly on tour and have supported Hundred Reasons, The Futureheads and Sky Larkin this year alone.

Johnny Foreigner were definitely one of the bigger acts playing the festival, and this was apparent from the sheer amount of people who were crammed into the venue. Luckily we managed to gradually shuffle our way forward towards the stage, where I experienced the only gig of the weekend which was unobstructed by ridiculously tall photographers (more about them later…). The audience went crazy for the band’s self-described noisy and melodramatic pop songs. The sweat-soaked set was a great introduction to those not familiar with the band, but also kept long-time fans happy by playing old favourites such as Suicide Pact, Yeh?, Eyes Wide Terrified and Feels Like Summer. The balance of the two-part harmonies of the male/female vocals/screams make this band quite unique in their own quirky genre. Fast-paced and energetic, the band slowed down only for a few moments to play DJs Gets Doubts.  The band ended on the awesome Champagne Girls I Have Known which certainly kept me très happy. They also got two other folk on stage at the end to add even more noise, an extra guitar and a guy banging about on some more drums. As Johnny Foreigner are quite well-known for their album artwork, which is designed by their friend Lewes Herriot, it was cool to see this in abundance around the gig, whether it was plastered over the band’s instruments, in particular the drums, or lovingly adorned across the merch stand…

Johnny Foreigner are currently midway through a UK tour before they head off to South Africa… GO SEE THEM!

www.johnnyforeignerband.com

www.myspace.com/johnnyforeigner

Pulled Apart By Horses- Clwb Ifor Bach 10.00- 10.45.

(Sŵn) Verdict: Eye-gougingly manic and nostril tinglingly sweaty live performances combined with ear-splitting guitar assaults make this Leeds four piece a truly sensuous treat…

As soon as Johnny Foreigner were over, the masses headed downstairs to watch Pulled Apart By Horses in a much smaller, but by no means intimate venue. This hairy hard rock band hail from Leeds, and are darn proud of it. The band are made up of Tom Hudson on guitar and vocals, James Brown on guitar, Lee Vincent on drums and Robert Lee on bass. The band formed in late 2007 after quitting the four individual bands they each belonged to. Their releases include one EP, Tour Traxx, and three 7″s- Holy Roar, I Punched A Lion In The Throat/The Crapsons and Meat Balloon/The Lighthouse. The band have performed at festivals such as Leeds’ Nastyfest IX, Latitude Festival. They appeared on the BBC Introducing stage at Leeds Festival 2008, and played the Turborg stage at Download 2009. They are currently supporting Biffy Clyro on their UK tour.

The frantic set started off with their first single Meat Balloon and introduced the audience to the band’s highly energetic routines. From the looks on some people’s faces, they obviously weren’t expecting the fast-paced riffs and screaming. But half the beauty of Pulled Apart By Horses is the changes in pace within their songs, and also the fact that the screams work really well, so I think that that part of the audience were definitely won over by the end of the gig. Unlike many bands, Pulled Apart By Horses actually sound a lot better live, probably because they make a lot more noise and have an unrelenting energy about them that is infectious.

The band enjoyed a lot of banter with the audience, with guitarist James offering round his bottle of Spar’s finest whisky to anyone who wanted any. When they played High Five, Swan Dive, Nose Dive James forced everyone to high-five each other, and encouraged members of the audience to scream into the mic. Tom seemed to spend half the gig in the crowd itself, with tech guys frantically trying to stop his guitar lead getting wrapped around peoples necks. He also seemed to like spitting whisky into the crowd, and I got a nice blast in the face, which was pleasant. They also played their amusingly titled songs E= MC Hammer, I’ve Got Guestlist To Rory O’Hara’s Suicide and their latest single, the slightly more commercial Get Off My Ghostrain, which is free to download off NME.com if you fancy a listen. Which I recommend you do…

www.pulledapartbyhorses.com

www.myspace.com/pulledapartbyhorses

SATURDAY October 24…

(Sŵn) Festival Fanzine Workshop- The Toucan Club 12.30-2.20.

(Sŵn) Verdict: Come and see and read fanzines, find out how to make them and meet the people behind them…

This was one of the free workshops that wristband wearers could attend, and as a magazine fanatic this seemed like a good thing to get out of bed for. After stumbling into two wrong seminars we finally found the zine workshop on the 5th floor, where representatives and editors from Culture Vulture, Bearded, Attack!!!!!, Letys and Risk & Consequence were there to share their thoughts and advice on creating and writing for fanzines. The general consensus was that making fanzines is fun, but don’t expect to make money from it. In fact, expect to be in debt instead. But having fun, so it’s all worth it, apparently.

As well as sharing anecdotes between the zines, there was also the opportunity to create pages for a (Sŵn) Festival zine, whether it was writing about your own personal experiences of the festival so far, or just an illustration. We didn’t have very long to do this, so I anticipate that my pages were rather dreadful, but time will tell as the zine is due out any day now…

(Ooh, the zine is out NOW… check it out and read it online here)

Tubelord- The Model Inn 4.15-4.45.

(Sŵn) Verdict: Tightly coiled music with a proper quiet/loud dynamic and melodies that zig when they should be zagging. Loads of energy and ideas bubbling away, like an indie-rock chemistry set…

Due to Loverman pulling out at the last minute, Tubelord ended up getting a later slot in the day than their original 2pm set time. Thank God. The Tubelord trio of Joe Prendergast (guitar/vocals), recently recruited Damien Gabet (bass/vocals) and Dave Catmur (drummage) hail from Kingston, South London, and just released their first album Our First American Friends on October 12. Formed in 2005, the band were arguably one of Huw Stephens’s top picks for the weekend, especially as they featured on Stephens’s compilation of the best new music that was released earlier this year under the awesomely titled Music Sounds Better With Huw.

Due to the mix up of the aforementioned time change, we left The Model Inn at about 3, as the band playing before Tubelord were a rather poor cover band (I think they were called Supertennis…) and had just started massacring Green Day’s Basketcase. However, when we arrived back at 4 we wished we’d suffered the covers, as there was a massive queue and it was one-in, one-out. Bad times. However just before Tubelord came on stage the previous band and their family vacated the venue, so we managed to squeeze ourselves in…

Despite initial technical problems with the sound, the set was probably my favourite of the weekend, only marred by the impossibly tall guys who were stood at the very front obstructing most peoples views. The post/math rockers can certainly make a hell of a lot of noise for only three people, so even with impaired vision the gig was ace enough not to matter too much.

As Tubelord have said themselves, they write pop songs for rock kids, and their jarring of rough and smooth tempos mixed up with variations of loud and soft dynamics really makes for a great live experience. Playing their most popular songs Night Of The Pencils, Feed Me A Box of Words and I Am Azerrad Single as well as focusing on songs from the new release, such as Propeller, contributed to the intensity of the set. Alexei from Johnny Foreigner was right there in the front row and loving it, and exchanged cutting remarks with the band, especially when he accused Tubelord of stealing one of JF’s song titles, He Woke Up On A Beach In Abergervenny, for their own. But all in the name of fun, of course.

One thing that seemed to baffle the hell out of us was the bass player, who I swear to God was not Sean. Rumour has it that he has left and been replaced, but I cannae find anything on the band’s official outlets of myspace/facebook/website to support this, only good old wikipedia that says that Sean has been replaced by Damien, so we shall have to see…

An awesome gig in a tiny and packed venue, Tubelord definitely deserved to have a more prominent set in the (Sŵn) schedule, and certainly a larger venue if the queue down the stairs was anything to go by…

Maybe next year? Huw Stephens take note!

www.asktubelord.com

www.myspace.com/tubelord

Munch Munch- The Gate 7.45-8.15.

(Sŵn) Verdict: Arrestingly hyperactive electro-prog with more ideas in one song than most bands can manage in an album, making these Bristolians the Mr Bungle for neon clad indie kids…

Originally a two-man band who met in halls at Bristol University, Richard Manber and Thomas Carrell started off Munch Munch by recording covers of No Limit and Lighthouse Family songs and actually never performed live as a duo. It was only when Jack O’ Connor and Sarah Louise Renwick joined the band later on in the summer of 2006 that they decided to up their game and play their first gig. They are often compared to Man Man and Animal Collective due to their unusual live set-ups, yet they cite their influences as mainly pop. They have released one 7″ entitled Wedding/Endolphins and they are featured on the recent Worried Noodles compilation from David Shrigley, alongside the likes of Deerhoof, Islands and Hot Chip, so that gives you a little snapshot as to what they sound like.

Playing in the downstairs coffee bar of The Gate, a church that has been converted into an Art Gallery and gig venue in Cathays, Munch Munch’s organ/keyboard generated electronica seemed right at home. The songs switched effortlessly between high-energy drumming and slow-paced and tranquil melodies. The band have said that when they first began writing songs, they weren’t fans of repeating melodies or sections within individual songs, as they saw it as unnecessary. However, they have since changed their opinion and instead see repetition as a powerful way of reinforcing ideas within a song, so both these juxtaposed ideas clash together and create a really varied and unconventional set.

My favourite thing about Munch Munch as a live entity is the fact that no one member is restricted to one instrument. Instead the band constantly switches between drums, synths, organs, guitars and keyboards, taking it is turns to sing and then chanting collectively as the gig drew to a close. It is in this sense that the band appear to be truly unique and talented in not only creating a band capable of multi-tasking, but also in the sense that they make themselves a very hard act to pin down and classify, which furthers their diversity and likeability…

www.myspace.com/munchmunchband

Danananaykroyd- The Gate 8.15-9.00.

(Sŵn) Verdict: The live experience is pretty much legendary in online communities, with all the communal energy of hardcore punk with none of the meatheadedness. Even better than the name suggests…

Upstairs in The Gate it was all about the big bands, not just in the sense of the most highly anticipated and popular, but also in terms of the number of members in each band. Emerging from Glasgow in 2006, this six-piece made up of Duncan Robertson, David Roy, John Baillie Junior, Paul Carlin, Calum Gunn and the recently recruited Ryan McGuiness have the stage presence and energy required for their loud, loud, loud music. Their releases include the 7″s Totally Bone and Some Dresses, their EP Sissy Hits and the album Hey Everyone! which came out earlier this year.

Danananaykryod definitely seemed to be one of the bands that was most eagerly anticipated over the weekend, and they certainly did not disappoint. Frequently described as part crafty-pop, part horrendous noise and all energy, Danananaykroyd certainly fired up the crowd and kept the momentum lasting the whole way through their 45 minute set. Once again, Alexei from JF was right at the front, enjoying the band and knowing every word. Once again, hideously tall photographers pushed their way to the front and obstructed most people’s views, but never mind. Noticeably absent from the stage was ex-bassist Laura Hyde who left the band this June. Despite this physical difference, the songs still sounded as good as ever, and certainly did not dampen any of the band’s originality.

Danananaykroyd played many of their best songs, including Black Wax, 1993, Pink Sabbath and Some Dresses as well as more stuff from their album, which had everyone chanting/singing/screaming along. The addition of JBJ as extra vocals makes the live experience even better, and louder, than before, and made the audience interaction sizzle even more than usual. Although the band describes its music as ‘Fight Pop’ it was hard to believe the band were capable of any sort of violence at some stages of the gig, especially when one guitarist towards the end of their set jumped into the audience and proceeded to give everyone and anyone sweaty hugs before bounding back up onto the stage.

Dananananykroyd are currently touring round the UK and will probably be swinging by you sometime soon… Seriously check them out, it will be the most fun you’ve had at a gig in a long time, promise…

www.dananananaykroyd.blogspot.com

www.myspace.com/dananananaykroyd

Los Campesinos! The Gate 9.30-10.30.

(Sŵn) Verdict: Los Campesinos! and their ubiquitous exclamation mark bring their galloping indie-clash to (Sŵn) for what’s likely to be one of its busiest gigs. Get there early and wear something weird…

As my lovely friend Sarah always comments, I’m usually wearing something weird so that was not really an issue here… the issue was getting to The Gate early. Or at least on time. Due to the previous night’s antics and my total of four hours sleep, I decided to be really rock n’ roll and go home for a nap before the evening’s antics began. However, this meant that I probably wouldn’t get there too early unless I had the shortest sleep ever.  So, after a hour’s kip, and a can of Red Bull in tow, I hot-footed it to The Gate… and thank God I did, as I was the last person allowed in before the old one-in, one-out routine began. And apparently the queues at 9pm were snaked around the whole church, so looks as though I had a lucky escape.

Having seen Munch Munch and Danananaykroyd I was well excited about seeing the headlining act in what would be one of their biggest homecoming gigs ever. The seven members of Los Campesinos!, Ellen, Gareth, Harriet, Neil, Ollie, Tom and Kim, all met at Cardiff University in 2006 and have gone on to become one of Cardiff’s biggest bands. Their EP Sticking Fingers Into Sockets was launched in 2007, and they released both their debut album Hold On Now, Youngster and their second album We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed in 2008. The band is due to release their third album Romance Is Boring in March 2010.

The upstairs part of The Gate is an awesome venue, as it used to be a church the pews are still there, and while they are slightly uncomfortable, and the columns around the stage sometimes get in the way, it really does have an almost magical feeling about it. Los Campesinos! played a really amazing set, and proved to those who had queued to get in that it was totally worth it. The band played all the live and album favourites, including We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives, You! Me! Dancing!, My Year In Lists and Death To Los Campesinos! The combination of all seven instruments, singers and the presence of such a large amount of people on stage made for a really great set, and everyone in the audience, whether they were familiar with the band or not, seemed to be really enjoying themselves. In between songs, Gareth filled the time with amusing anecdotes about the other bands who played that night, as well as giving the audience a sneak preview of songs from their forthcoming album, such as There Are Listed Buildings and the title track Romance Is Boring.

However the greatest moment came at the very end of the gig when Alexei from JF and JBJ from Dananananaykroyd invaded the stage to sing LC!’s most popular song Sweet Dreams Sweet Cheeks. One of the surprisingly ace things I witnessed at this gig was the fact that there were no bouncers hanging around the stage, ready to pounce on anyone who got a bit rowdy or decided to crowdsurf. If this had been the case then the bouncers certainly would have had a job trying to contain the mayhem that broke out during that final song as Gareth, Alexei and JBJ sang and screamed before launching themselves into the crowd. It really was one of the best collaborations I have seen live, check out the video (if WordPress ever actually lets me put any videos up…) to see it for yourself, as it was a pretty amazing moment and a great way to end the gig…

www.loscampesinos.com

www.myspace.com/loscampesinos

And thus was the end to my (Sŵn) weekend… until next year anyway…

Phrazes for the Young Art

Just got through Julian Casablancas’s Phrazes for the Young, I’ve got to say that at least instantly it deliver. Each song has so much going on that while the 5 minutes tracks might meander throughout, Casablancas’s deep croon narrates us boisterously from start to finish. The balance of instruments and synths works incredibly well, as if the result of meticulous tweaking and revisions, which is probably why such a dense album can seem so smooth. On the flipside, the theme of being a music icon and the expectations/tribulations that come with that territory do get a bit tiresome, although at least our boy sings with conviction. Overall, Phrazes for the Young sounds like the fruits of hard labor, and one cannot help but feel reassured by the Casablancas/Strokes camp.

3/3?

Frenetic Welsh seven-piece Los Campesinos! have announced the deats on their upcoming record, now titled Romance is Boring. I’m a huge fan of their previous releases, both Hold On Now Youngster and We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed are among my favorite CDs of the past few years. From their debut to their sophisticated if not superior non-followup, Los Campesinos! make getting the sonic wind knocked out of you feel refreshing. Here’s hoping we have another winner on our hands. So far the tracklist does not disappoint:

1. In Medias Res
2. There Are Listed Buildings
3. Romance Is Boring
4. We’ve Got Your Back (Documented Minor Emotional Breakdown #2)
5. Plan A
6. 200-102
7. Straight In At 101
8. Who Fell Asleep In
9. I Warned You: Do Not Make An Enemy Of Me
10. Heart Swells/100-1
11. I  Just Sighed. I Just Sighed, Just So You Know
12. A Heat Rash In The Shape Of The Show Me State; or, Letters From Me To Charlotte
13. The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future
14. This Is A Flag. There Is No Wind
15. Coda: A Burn Scar In The Shape Of The Sooner State

Get The Sea Is A Good Place to Think of The Future. Watch first single There Are Listed Buildings.

We Love You So Art

Been trying to get a hold of that song from the original Where the Wild Things Are trailer? Already have “Wake Up” and notice it’s a different version used in said trailer? Well now you can finally catch that film specific version in a mixtape released by director Spike Jonze. Tracklist follows, click the image above for download.

1. Lust For Life – Girls
2. Wake Up (WTWTA trailer version) – Arcade Fire
3. I Want a Dog – Pet Shop Boys
4. Hey There Stranger – Pamela Blue
5. The Wimp – Capybara
6. Animal Crackers (in Cellophane Boxes) – Gene Pitney
7. Yekermo Sew – Mulatu Astatke
8. Water To Wine – Saintseneca
9. Tong Poo – Yellow Magic Orchestra
10. Rumpus – Karen O and The Kids
11. Overnight Religion – Kurt Vile
12. Green Bean (Binki Shapiro) – Green Bean
13. No Time, No Hope – Times New Viking
14. Ode to an African Violet – Mort Garson
15. Como Pudiste Hacerme Esto A Mi – Alaska y Dinarama
16. Overmuch – The Long Lost
17. Turkey Sandwich – Mika Miko
18. Poet, Fool or Bum – Lee Hazlewood
19. Hultsfred ‘98 – Jens Lekman
20. Seigneur Apprends Moi – Hermas Zopoula

click for download link

“First off this is for you, you you you.” Get the new Lil Wayne mixtape No Ceilings via MOG.

Tracklist:

01. Swag Surfin’
02. Ice Cream Paint Job
03. D.O.A.
04. Interlude
05. Wasted
06. Watch My Shoes
07. Break Up (feat. Short Dawg & Gudda Gudda)
08. Banned From TV
09. Throw It In The Bag (Remix)
10. I Think I Love Her (feat. Tyga & Shanell)
11. Interlude #2 (feat. Shanell)
12. Wetter
13. I’m Good (feat. T-Streets)
14. Poke Her Face (feat. Jae Millz)
15. Run This Town
16. I Gotta Feeling
17. Outro

Haven’t gotten through it yet, so Ima going to get back to this blunt, and you get back to the mixtape…

]]> http://fingersbecomethumbs.wordpress.com/2009/10/27/swn-festival-2009/ Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:57:41 +0000 fingersbecomethumbs http://fingersbecomethumbs.wordpress.com/2009/10/27/swn-festival-2009/

I Spent last weekend back in Cardiff for this years Swn Festival, curated by Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens, and wrote some bits about some of the bands I saw for God Is In The TV. It still needs to be edited together with writing from another person, but I thought I’d post what I contributed up here. Overall, I think Swn Festival is great, and I would highly reccomend it to anyone considering going next year.

Three Trapped Tigers are a band that possesses huge potential, combining melodic synth and guitar sounds with sporadic Lightning Bolt inspired drumming. They are an entertaining band to watch live, certainly, but it feels like they will need a lot of guidance to have the same success in the studio. Although some of the electronic sounds they use are dubious, and they often go astray during complex build-ups, at its best, this is a powerful and engaging performance from the London based trio.

While Gold Panda attracts a relatively large crowd upstairs in the legendary Clwb Ifor Bach, I can’t help but feel his set would have been better suited to a later billing. Hunched over a table filled with the usual gadgets and laptop, he mixes plodding electro beats with ambient and synth sounds. Although the audience can be seen nodding along and visibly enjoying the set, a half an hour slot is hardly long enough to ignite the dancefloor.

Skipping across town to Roath’s beautiful converted church, The Gate, there is a heavy sense of anticipation for tonight’s headliners, Wild Beasts. This excitement is very nearly stifled by a technical error that sees the big impact vocal introduction completely muted, which the band struggle to recover from during opener The Fun Powder Plot. After this minor glitch, however, the band appears to be in top form, with the two voices making glorious use of the space and acoustics offered by tonight’s venue. The set list is comprised of a few highlights from the band’s debut but relies heavily on new album, Two Dancers, and this heartfelt title track is arguably the sets most powerful moment.

Back over at the Gate, the festival has made use of the coffee shop space, which hosts Michigan experimentalists, Our Brother The Native. Performing as a two piece, the bands set up includes drums, a guitar and a large table full of loop and electronic equipment. As can often be the case with bands like this, much of the pleasure is taken from how these songs are constructed, rather than the songs themselves. In saying that, the bands set never becomes dull to watch, and in all too brief moments, produces inspiring results.

Tonight’s headliners in the theatre space are Scottish shoegazers The Twilight Sad, making their first ever appearance in Cardiff. Despite a modest crowd, perhaps due to conflicts in the busy Swn schedule, it’s visible what this performance means to the loyal fans that were present. As the band launch into a set relying heavily on new album, Forget The Night Ahead, a front row of fans sing every word back to the band with a sincerity that mirrors the bands own. It’s an awe-inspiring performance that culminates in debut album highlight, Cold Days From The Birdhouse; serving as a reminder of the power of live music, during a weekend when it’s so easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of bands.

It’s been roughly two years since I had seen Munch Munch, who had once impressed me supporting Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, however it’s evident tonight that they haven’t progressed much during this time. Their set is packed full of interesting ideas, but it’s all far too messy to appreciate the hooks that clearly lurk beneath the surface. I overhear somebody saying that the band live in different cities, allowing little time to practice, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the case.

Another band that had once been hugely impressive but now lack the same impact is Dananananaykroyd. Seeing them for the first time I was wilfully swept up in the enthusiasm and spontaneity of their performance, yet repeat viewings are not advised. What had once been an inspired bit of fun in the form of a wall of cuddles (think wall of death, but friendlier), is now as planned and as routine as any other aspect of their performance; taking the magic from their performance in a similar fashion to telling a child that Santa doesn’t exist. I don’t want to criticise Danananaykroyd, whose performance still thrills and excites the enthusiastic rabble down the front, but what had once warmed my heart leaves me feeling cold this time around.

Los Campesinos!, the very curators of tonight’s event at The Gate, continue to sound every bit the finished article on record. This homecoming show, however, is clearly an important one for the band, whose own enjoyment of the gig perhaps impeaches on their overall performance. It’s difficult to fault the songs themselves; from the youthful exuberance of tracks from their debut, through the passionate We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed material, the tracks previewed from upcoming album, Romance is Boring, sound stronger than ever. Yet towards the end as the band joke with pals from other bands, it almost seems like regular (paying) members of the audience are playing third-party to some exclusive gathering of friends.

Back in Womanby Street, however, the heart of Cardiff’s Swn festival beats late into the night. This results in a festival closing performance from Cardiff’s own noisy punk duo, Right Hand Left Hand, whose performance in the packed Model Inn pub leaves a queue outside eager to get in. This truly is what Swn festival is all about; as band and audience feed off of a mutual energy that threatens to collapse the very establishment that holds them. Members of the crowd scale the walls, floor and ceiling, as members of staff look on with bemused expressions. Nobody leaves The Model Inn without a smile on their face tonight, knowing that Cardiff’s wonderful city festival couldn’t have come to a better conclusion.

The popular independent music group ‘Los Campesinos!’ announced on October 25th that they have finished recording their new album “Romance is Boring”. This news follows a one year hiatus for the group which left die-hard fans craving LC’s unique post-rock/indie-pop sound since the release of their previous EP “We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed”.

Indie favorites Los Campesinos! gear up for their upcoming February release

The latest offering will include appearances by Jamie Stewart (Xiu Xiu), Zac Pennington (Parenthetical Girls, Slender Means Society) and Jherek Bischoff (The Dead Science). It is currently slated to contain thirteen original tracks, including their recently released single, “There Are Listed Buildings”. All songs on the upcoming release were both written and composed entirely by Los Campesinos!

The album is currently set to be released on February 1, 2010 under the famous Wichita Recordings. The most recent track list for the album is listed below.

With only a few minor changes to their lineup, Los Campesinos! is back!

Track Listing:
We’ve Got Your Back (Documented Minor Emotional Breakdown #2)
Plan A
200-102
Straight In At 101
Who Fell Asleep In
I Warned You: Do Not Make An Enemy Of Me
Heart Swells/100-1
I Just Sighed. I Just Sighed, Just So You Know
A Heat Rash In The Shape Of The Show Me State; or, Letters From Me To Charlotte
The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future
This Is A Flag. There Is No Wind
Coda: A Burn Scar In The Shape Of The Sooner State

Depois de “The Sea Is a Good Place to Think of the Future“, segundo single do novo álbum de Los Campesinos, Romance Is Boring, a ser lançado a 1 de Fevereiro.

Nas palavras deles: It is a record about the death and decay of the human body, sex, lost love, mental breakdown, football and, ultimately, that there probably isn’t a light at the end of the tunnel.

Deve ser animado, portanto.

You get a full length mixtape this week because Halloween rules and I’m awesome.  That, and I had nothing to do after Mad Men.

1. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Satan Said Dance
2. Le Tigre – After Dark
3. Los Campesinos – We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives
4. Slow Club – Because We Are Dead
5. Of Montreal – Chrissy Kiss The Corpse
6. The White Stripes – Little Ghost
7. Franz Ferdinand – Shopping For Blood
8. Outkast – Dracula’s Wedding
9. Screamin’ Jay Hawkins – I Put A Spell On You
10. Antsy Pants – Vampire
11. Beck – Satan Gave Me A Taco