ilovepie

New Sounds : Tomahawks For Targets

ilovepie — Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:43 +0000

I’m not going to lie, but I’m a total magpie when it comes to quirky and strange band names. So you’ll imagine my delight when I found Tomahawks For Targets … quirky and strange all rolled into a nice little six syllable package. Hailing from Newcastle, and creating somewhat structurally complex pop/rock sounds, which reminded me instantly of a cross between little known and now defunct fellow north easterners Dartz and old Panic! At The Disco. Their new album ‘Invasion On a Budget’ is out now in all the usual places.

Tomahawks For Targets – Invasion On a Budget (iTunes) (Spotify)

Glisk – Hermaion

ilovepie — Tue, 08 May 2012 11:24:18 +0000

Another artist that i’ve not heard of from in nearly a year now. Glisk Australian creator of dreamy electro soundscapes has just released his new album ‘Hermaion’. The album opens with cascading synths, tickering glockenspiels and a chilled out, nearly inaudible vocal before soon taking a twist towards a darker and more sinister sound, which then lifts towards the last couple of tracks into bright synth filled sunshine. With a vibe that’s reminiscent of Sigur Ros but with more oomph. It’s available to download now from Glisk’s bandcamp.

Jealov – Lives

ilovepie — Sun, 06 May 2012 12:00:45 +0000

It’s been a long time since we last heard from Jealov Belgium producer, of chilled out electro glitch-hop. Infact the last we heard he was busy re-hashing tracks from Beyonce and Justin Timberlake. Anyway he’s back, with a new 45min mixtape, compiled from a live show in Brussels. ‘Lives’ pushes the boundaries in the current trend for lo-fi RnB (or glitch-hop if you’re a fan of genre tags) and fusing it with dubstep to take it all in a new and at times dark and sinister direction, you’ve heard these sounds before but not like this.

Alpines Debut Single – Empire

ilovepie — Sun, 06 May 2012 09:35:30 +0000

Following on from the release of EPs ‘Night Drive’ and ‘Cocoon’ the south London duo, Alpines have announced the release of their debut single ‘Empire’. and it’s clear why Florence Welch choose them to support her on here recent Alexandria Palace show. Soaring powerful female vocals paired with a strong drum beat, not unlike the afore mentioned Florence. It’s due for release June 11th and comes with remixes from Maribou State, Tessela and CREEP.

Cymbals – Sideways, Sometimes

ilovepie — Fri, 04 May 2012 22:20:44 +0000

Cymbals the London quintet have just released their second album ‘Sideways, Sometimes’ the follow up to last years ‘unlearn’. A indie/electro mess of guitars, catchy drum driven sections, effortless cool vocals and receptive electro, pulsating percussion-esq keyboard sections. Recorded over the course of five days in a studio floating on the Thames. ‘Sideways, Sometimes’ is an perfectly formed summer album, that’s sure to please the hipsters and indie kids alike. Check out the beautiful glitch filled Lazy Hurricanes remix of ‘No Bad Decisions’ below.

Live Review : Blood Red Shoes @ Trinity Centre

ilovepie — Wed, 02 May 2012 14:03:24 +0000

Trinity Centre Bristol – 01/05/12

Things have been going rather well for Blood Red Shoes lately, with masses of air play on Radio 1 by the likes of Huw Stephens and even Fearne Cotton, a new album and a big European tour underway. The Brighton based duo were assured a warm reception on their stop over in the west country’s music capital, Bristol.

With a name that nods back to the venue’s former use as a church, Trinity Centre was full of groups mingling when I arrived in a scene reminiscent of a gallery opening, but within minutes that all changed as support act Dublin’s Cast of Cheers burst onto the stage with no warning and proceeded to hit us with a high energy performance that you could clearly tell the band were enjoying especially bassist John Higgins, as he bopped along to the bands new single ‘Animal’. Powerful vocals from front man Conor Adams, helped to turn a luke warm crowd into a writhing mass. It was a performance that i’m sure left many wondering why they aren’t touring out right.

After a short break and enough time to refill my pint glass with more cider, Blood Red Shoes appeared on stage in a cloak of UV lighting, and kicked things off with high energy track ‘It’s Getting Boring By The Sea’ with its pulsating guitar riff, was a perfect opening to what would be a very tight set. With their heavy melodic rock style all backed up with amazing lighting which during the mellower moments of the duo’s set bathed them in a deep red light giving way to blinding white light as they crescendoed towards the tracks climax. Notable crowd pleasers were tracks such as ‘Cold’, ‘Don’t Ask’ and ‘Lost Kids’ although they played tracks from all three of their releases.

Taking a break before ‘Lost Kids’ to acknowledge ’Big Jeff‘ who can normally be seen head banging with his big hair, at the front of most gigs in Bristol. Blood Red Shoes finished up their set with the high energy track ‘I Wish I Was Someone Better’ which ultimately left the crown chanting the bands name for more. Which prompted an encore with the duo closing the night on loud track ‘Je Me Perds’. Which rounded off a very slick and perfectly performed set.

New Sound of The Month : Grimes

ilovepie — Tue, 01 May 2012 08:30:49 +0000

With her cascading falsetto vocal, producing cut back, lofi dance music tinged with RnB beats. Grimes is being touted by some as the new Bjork, an anti-gaga if you will. Hailing from Vancouver, although to some extent stylistically takes nods from Scandinavian ambient pop, thus the likening to Bjork I suppose. Her new album ‘Visions’ was released back in March. Blending dark brooding beats with pop-esq melodies perfectly laid on an RnB beat, fitting Grimes perfectly into the current trend for lo-fi RnB, sitting along side the likes of The Weeknd and AlunaGeorge. and after a rather confident and beautiful performance on Later with Jools Holland last week it looks like this could be Grimes’s year.

Grimes – Visions (iTunes) (Spotify)

Gang Colours Debut

ilovepie — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 11:55:44 +0000

Gang Colours is Southampton native Will Ozanne. His new debut album ‘The Key Chain Collection’ is a collection of tracks which feature a glitchy RnB beat with discarded burnt out electro fragments. Punctuated at times with a soulful and somewhat dark and somber vocal, (To Repel Ghosts) which at times gives way for a lighter more melody driven track (Fancy Restaurant). and the odd rattle of percussion for good measure. It’s available to download now.

Gang Colours – The Key Chain Collection (iTunes) (Spotify)

New Bluebell Track

ilovepie — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 08:22:18 +0000

It’s been over a year since I last posted about Hampshire’s Bluebell. The duo are back with a new track ‘Cinderella’. A heavy-ish pounding electronic beat paired perfectly with Annabel’s cockney tinged vocal and a soaring chorus make it hard to place this track is it pop or is it electro rock. ‘Cinderella’ is released 11th June on Killing Moon Records.

AlunaGeorge : You Know You Like It EP

ilovepie — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:32:10 +0000

Lo-Fi minimal electro RnB duo AlunaGeorge bouced into our ears at the end of last year, and have been playing on our stereo ever since. They’ve just released their first EP ‘You Know You Like It’ featuring the blog popular title track as well as two new tracks ‘Just a Touch’ and ‘Put Up Your Hands’. Featuring that nice mix of electro synths and downbeat RnB beats all hung perfectly around Aluna’s vocals. It’s out now on all the digital music services and released on 12″ in June. All in all a nice little teaser to a full release that most will be hoping will be landing some time in the next few months.

AlunaGeorge – You Know You Like It (iTunes) (Spotify)