Arcade Fire // The Suburbs

I think Montreal must be home to the best things in life. The album is a true grower, but it has not come off repeat since I started listening.

Arcade Fire : The Suburbs

Bubblegum Ponk

Am I allowed to coin the term "ponk" for "pop-punk"? If so, then I never get tired of ponk - there seems to be something about the treble-heavy guitar-laden sound which is instantly appealing and manages to (without waxing over-lyrical) reach something which far more elaborate or inventive songs cannot.

The Ramones - of course the godfathers of ponk. Posted below is perhaps the apotheosis of the ponk form. "Slug" is the archetype for ponk. Like Plato's ideal form, other bands can only hope to achieve a copy of a copy. I defy you to listen to this and not think of the balmy, love-struck summer evenings of youth.

Ramones - Slug (demo)

Of course the Exploding Hearts - it is now seven years since three of the band were killed in a road accident in July 2003. I know someone who is even more of a smart-ass than myself once commented that death is the best possible career move; the tantalising early promise is solidified into something more concrete and the remaining output just a hint at what might have been (see also - John Keats, Thomas Chatterton, Franz Schubert). The mystique is firmly embedded in the music - but the Hearts are perhaps the band who need it the least. The less said about the one remaining member's post-Hearts activities the better.

The Exploding Hearts - Rumours in Town

- I'm a Pretender

(All via Mediafire - sorry!)

Hudson Mohawke // Ooops

Hudson Mohawke's reworking of Tweet's 'Oops Oh My'. Nice 'n sleazy.

Hudson Mohawke : Ooops

[via]

1234 Festival, Shoreditch

Put down the downloads, rips and leaks, festivals need showmanship. Lo-fi buzz can't hide a lack of spectacle. Monotony will be spotted. So, of all the blog-worthy bands here, many were let down by shit sound (Wavves), some let down by an inability to stop stopping the set to moan about the sound (Veronica Falls) but some managed to put on performances that enlivened even the most disinterested (read: hipster) of spectators. Crowd diving from way up high on a tee-pee pole support? Check. Wrestling with the crowd? Check. Face bloodied through wrestling-move razor blades? See above.

Hardcore 1 - Chillwave 0.

Fucked Up : Son The Father
Rolo Tomassi : Party Wounds

Claire Maguire // Disappointment

A while ago I wrote a post about my disappointment at UK pop. Add another to the list. And, the worst part is, its obviously not even her fault. Way back in January 2009, I first heard Claire Maguire's 'Strangest Thing' and it was this stripped down, emotional track that I had in the same bracket as the early Marina and the Diamonds and Ellie Goulding. They have both gone on to be somewhat average. Then I heard the new, final, polished track. Excitement levels were high. This, however, is overproduced shit. It's probably out on Neon Gold sometime if you really want it.

With some pain, the new one:
Claire Maguire : Strangest Thing (NEW)

And the original:
Claire Maguire : Strangest Thing (Original)

Crushed.

Louis La Roche : Get On Down

Louis La Roche : Get On Down

Not a mixtape

Post mix-tape blog life is tough. All I can think of is what other songs could have gone in the mix. The more I think, the more songs there are. And here are a few of them. Although, as has been noted by many, the main problem this year has been that lack of an absolute barn-storming play-on-loop other-hyphenated-adjective monster hit. But I'm not too worried.

The Radio Dept. : Never Follow Suit
Emeralds : Double Helix
Gauntlet Hair : I Was Thinking...
Owen Pallett : E Is For Estranged
Twin Sister : All Around And Away We Go
Aloe Blacc : I Need A Dollar
Veronica Falls : Stephen
Harlem : Friendly Ghost
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti : Round and Round
Robyn : Don't Fucking Tell Me What To Do
The Samps : Peppergood
Eddy Current Suppression Ring : Anxiety
Liars : Scissor

Oh, and new Tennis, via those nice chaps at GvB.

Tennis : Baltimore

Cheers to MES for going on about Emeralds.

Music On The Sea Mixtape #1 (part 2)

So the creative divide begins, I start writing posts called 'Bends Emotion' and the blog falls apart. Or, we all specialise in what we like and Smithsonian economics mean that everyone has a nice time.

Four Tet : Angel Echoes
Beach House : Silver Soul
Tennis : Marathon
The Tallest Man On Earth : King Of Spain
Wavves : Post Acid
Wolf Parade : Pobody's Nerfect
James Blake : CMYK
Caribou : Odessa
Big Boi : Shutterbugg
Crystal Castles : Celestica
Best Coast : When I'm With You[bonus! 2009]

Nb: I just threw the Best Coast one on the end there as it's my favourite Best Coast track but has had no mention here yet. It's from 2009. But late 2009, so close enough.

[Photo]

Three in a row

New jam by The Knocks, out on Neon Gold on 27th July. New jam by Cut Copy out soon [via]. And a spooky rock jam that does something for me; it's already out on Fan Death.

The Knocks : Make It Better
Cut Copy : Where I'm Going
Puerto Rico Flowers : Let's Make Friends

Look out for my "2010 10", which will be up tomorrow.

Music on the Sea Mixtape 1 - 2010 so far...

So Chris and I decided to make a mixtape each - the two sides of Music on the Sea. Creative tension. Juxtaposition.

Sitting down to think through the tracks from 2010 to include, I have to admit I struggled. I had thought it had been a strong year for music so far, but possibly more in terms of whole records than individual tracks. Proof perhaps that the predicted "demise of the album" served as equal parts harbinger and call to arms.

1. Dom - I wonder
2. Best Coast - Boyfriend
3. Titus Andronicus - Richard II
4. Japandroids - Darkness on the Edge of Gastown
5. Wolf Parade - Cloud Shadow on the Mountain
6. Joanna Newsom - Kingfisher
7. ceo - White Magic
8. Boris - Seasons (via Mediafire)
9. Beach Fossils - Sometimes
10. Wild Nothing - Chinatown

Best Coast

Why are Best Coast good? This is a thought that, more or less, has been with me recently. It started with Girls - why are a band so derivative and formulaic so enjoyable to listen to? You've heard their songs a thousand times before.

Perhaps we are moving towards a climate where originality is no longer paramount in music, and simply putting together well-constructed, well-performed songs is now highly prized. After all, Dylan started his career playing traditional folk songs because it simply didn't occur to him to write his own material.

It might also be a re-acceptance of tradition. I can't remember a time when there have been so many bands drawing upon sun-drenched or girl-group 60s pop for their sounds. A socio-economic slant might read the sharp cuts and promises of a bleak future as inspiring a reaching out to sunnier times; the innocent, simple pop melodies of our parents' youth. Indeed we could be reclaiming the prospects that our baby-boomer forebears enjoyed and subsequently consumed; cheap property, secure pensions, job prospects. After all the attention on the '68 movements, where is our generation's '68?

Anyway, Best Coast do not deserve to be submitted to such waffle. Bethany Consantino's voice glides perfectly over the backing harmonies and Fender Jaguar-esque guitar. Simple chord changes, simple lyrics, yet immediately appealing - "there's something about the summer" - this defies explanation but just works. Perhaps that is the secret. Walter Pater wrote that "all art aspires towards the condition of music" - it is inherently abstract. You just listen and enjoy.

Best Coast: "Boyfriend"
: "Summer Mood"
: "I Want To"

Vinyl Rips // Funk, hip hop and 90s dance

Very excited about these. Three separate genres, but all massive tunes.

Funk :
Al Downing : The Whole World's Gone Funky [1975 Chess]


Hip Hop :
Hip Hop For Respect : One Four Love (Part 1) [2000 Rawkus]


And some excellent late 80s dance :
Patti Day : Right Before My Eyes (House/Vocal Mix) [Debut 1989]

He made me a [mix]tape, of bootlegs and b-sides

Since time immemorial/the cassette, boys have been flirting with girls (and probably the other way around) via the medium of the 'mixtape'. Well, you lucky people, it is the turn of MOTS to have a little flirt with the internet reader. Unfortunately looks and charm were not enough, so it has come down to this.

A series of mixtapes, coming soon to MOTS. In the meantime, you can go and find a real boy/girl and all our efforts will be lost.

Art Brut : My Little Brother

///

And new Of Montreal! That's right, a song about 'coquetteishness'. Or, if I may, flirting. Phew, I need a sit down.

Of Montreal : Coquet Coquette

For all the Americans...

Hate to see tea wasted.

Comsat Angels : Independence Day

Wavves // Oldies

At some point during last week, the new Wavves album King of the Beach came out. First thing, this is not a review. There are many reviews out there which are more coherent and eloquent than the following, it is probably best to read them (or, of course, you could just have a listen and use some subjective judgement, although this remains a controversial course of action).

Wavves : Post Acid

What I will say is this: it does seem like the peak of The Beach Boys influenced wave of pop coming out right now. So, as it is always important to rediscover your roots, let's have a minute to reflect. You can pick all these up at your local (presuming that isn't Berwick Street) record store for £1-4. A few favourites:

The Beach Boys : Surfer Girl (1967 Rehersal)

Aren't vocal harmonies just the best thing? And probably one of the most played songs in my flat in the last year:



And, finally, The Band.

The Band : The Weight (YSI)

Mount Kimbie // Fol Chen

Apparently you can have too much of a good thing. Disclaimer: consume in moderation.

If you haven't heard Mount Kimbie yet, get prepared for their album coming out on July 19 on Hotflush.

Mount Kimbie : Field

And a James Blake remix. Too much?

Mount Kimbie : Maybes (James Blake remix)

via

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And Fol Chen, which may or may not be a foreign language.

Fol Chen : In Ruins
Fol Chen - In Ruins by Secret Hipster