Now That's What I Call A Music Thread: 2009

[YI]

FUCK YEAH~!

1 Don't Look Back

2 Novacain

3 I'm Not A Loser

4 Novella

5 Lost Motel

6 Pleather

7 Klawsterfobia

8 Ghost Town

9 Bark At The Moon

10 Sinner Or Coward?

11 Season Of The Witch

12 Your Worst Mistake

13 Betrayal

14 More Than Words

15 Barfly

16 Night Of The Necro

17 American Lie

18 Dig

19 Wrong Side Of The Tracks

20 Just Like Me

21 Mad Mad World

22 Jacqueline

23 Velvet Alley

24 Ashes

25 Forever Is Today

"I'm Not A Loser" is apparently a Descendents cover, which leaves "Sinner Or Coward?", "Night Of The Necro" and "Forever Is Today" as 'new' songs (although one of them is actually "Last Song" from the EOSD sessions), so two 'new' songs. Hopefully there's been some tweaking to some of the stuff like Lost Motel, because the original 'studio recording' of that sounds pretty terrible.

[YI]

I like Cobra Starship...eww...I feel so dirty.

Owl City has also been signed to Universal Records. Nice!

Edited February 11, 2009 by YI

[YI]

Sonic Boom Six and Random Hand are confirmed for "Slam Dunk". MEEEEHHH!!! at Random Hand. Christ I couldn't cope seeing them again, there's a bunch of great 'ska' bands in the UK (FUCKING JB CONSPIRACY!!!), why the fuck do Random Hand end up supporting like every ska band who come over. Sonic Boom Six...yeah...

...more than happy at their inclusion. SB6 are actually one of the most intriguing bands around at the minute, IMO, great blend of punk/ska/hip-hop, can't help but love.

Catch 22 (PLAY SOME "KEASBEY..." BIATCHES~!) and a reformed Farse are rumoured too. Tickets are confirmed as £20...defo's hitting this up, regardless of line-up, will be a laugh.

Also "One Day Robots Will Cry" by Cobra Starship is HUUUUUUUGE!!! Sounds like first album Bravery. Among some terrible up your own arse shit (which is shallowly catchy) there's this absolutely epic track - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YxFff3M-y4

New Found Glory have also added another UK show to their European tour, which makes it look like (given the dates) they'll be playing too.

Edited February 12, 2009 by YI

[Turbo Yannis]

Friendly Fires are playing in Edinburgh and Glasgow in May but all of my friends have shit taste in music and don't seem to want to go.

Bastards.

[METALMAN]

Yeah I know I am going to see them.

[ADG]

So did anyone pick up Springsteen tickets in the pre-sale yesterday? I'm gonna try and get one when they go on sale in thirteen minutes.

[Iain76er]

So did anyone pick up Springsteen tickets in the pre-sale yesterday? I'm gonna try and get one when they go on sale in thirteen minutes.

Yup. £3.50 for them to send an email with my tickets. They're having a fucking laugh.

How'd you do?

[YI]

I slept in. I missed. :( :( :(

TAKE MY HAND!!

I SWEAR IT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO DO!!!

I WILL PICK YOU UP WHEN YOU'RE DOWN!!!

MAKE YOU SMILE WHEN YOU FROWN!!

DON'T BE AFRAID!!

YOU'RE ALL THAT I WOULD EVER ASK FOR!!

Between that and;

I'M COMING BACK TO YOU!!

I'M GONNA HOLD YOU TIGHT!!

EVERY NIGHT WE'RE APART!!

IT GETS ME DOWN!!

...this new Paige material is the cheesiest fucking shit I've heard in...forever?...can't help but love it.

0:16-0:20 on that video will change your live...I have never known of a band move as awkwardly as Paige.

Edited February 13, 2009 by YI

[ADG]

So did anyone pick up Springsteen tickets in the pre-sale yesterday? I'm gonna try and get one when they go on sale in thirteen minutes.

Yup. £3.50 for them to send an email with my tickets. They're having a fucking laugh.

How'd you do?

Picked up a ticket at 9 this morning.

[Turbo Yannis]

Yeah I know I am going to see them.

Two man EWB meet up?

[METALMAN]

In Glasgow? I'm going for the student radio thing.

Oh and I forgot about Springsteen tickets, despite me talking about it all week to my friends. I'm not going to pay £165 for the only other available ones. Never.

[The Chief]

Really like the new Loney Dear album. That and the kills. Absoloutley awesome!

All i can see over this entire thread is the whitest boy alive so i think their next on my list.

Nice to see new found glory have a new album out soon coming home was very poor.

[YI]

:::THE WEEK:::

TOP 5 ALBUMS:

Punk-Rock is at the forefront of the 'chart' this week, as only one album from last week manages to survive in the top 5;

1. "THE HIGH AND MIGHTY" by THE CUT UPS ( n/a | 1st week)

http://www.myspace.com/thecutupsfromexeter

When I heard the new Propagandhi record, I was blown away, and I honestly thought that there was going to be nothing to top that, this week. However, less than 24-hours later, I finally succumbed and downloaded an album I'd heard a bit of buzz about on the 'UK scene', and it totally caught me off guard with how awesome it actually is. "The High And Mighty" is the second album by Exeter based, The Cut Ups. The sound is best described as mid-tempo punk-rock, which seems to be based on a sort of mixture between American bands like Dillinger Four and Jawbreaker, as well as Sunderland based punk 'legends' Leatherface, with a Billy Bragg twang thrown in there for good measure. That's not to say they can only be enjoyed by 'diehard' punk-rock fans, in fact, the opposite, as the band seems to have an underlying vibe that matches The Gaslight Anthem and Kings Of Leon, just as much as the bands previously mentioned. In fact, two of the standout tracks on the record, "The King Of Exwick" and "Jake Versus The Christmas Tree" sound as though they are straight out of the Kings Of Leon playbook, all the way from riffs, to structure, to the way the vocals are accented.

STANDOUT TRACKS: "Last Night I Dreamt I Saw Fugazi", "These Bones Were Built On Rice", "The King Of Exwick" and "An Ode To These Isles".

IF YOU LIKE: "Jawbreaker", "Kings Of Leon", "Dillinger Four", "Former Cell Mates" etc.

2. "SUPPORTING CASTE" by PROPAGANDHI ( n/a | 1st week)

http://www.myspace.com/propagandhi

After 2005's "Potemkin City Limits" I honestly felt there was musically, nowhere for Propagandhi to go. Having started life about 20-years earlier as a rather basic (but very good) skate-punk band, with definitive pop-punk influences, "Potemkin City Limits" was only the bands 4th album, but over those albums the transformation the band had went through was astonishing. Things started to change following their sophomore album, 1996's "Less Talk, More Rock". Bassist, John K Samson left the band, and went on to form indie-band, The Weakerthans, one of my top-5 bands of all time. This was a move which proved to be great in the long run. First of all, it gave us The Weakerthans, but it also saw Propagandhi change towards a totally new direction, a sound that perfectly set off the confrontational and politically charged (maybe more "We don't give a fuck/hate everything") nature of the band. 2001 saw the release of their best album to date in the melodic-hardcore album, "Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes" which is heralded as a punk-rock classic. The band then went further down this heavier tone with "Potemkin City Limits", where they added lavish guitar technique, a more progressive style and thrash overtones that would see them filed easily alongside the likes of Municipal Waste. This was made all the more impressive due to the fact they were a 3-piece band, with Chris Hannah providing both the amazing guitar work and vocals. For "Supporting Caste" the band have finally recruited a 2nd guitarist, and I had kind of worried that the direction they were going to be headed was more of a 'guitar wankfest', but I have happily been proved wrong. There's an amazing variation in tracks here, and the band have actually scaled back the 'thrashiness' a bit, which surprised me. There's more basic punk-rock tracks like "Human(e) Meat (The Flensing Of Sandor Katz)" and "Potemkin City Limits", hardcore tunes like "This Is Your Life", tracks like "Dear Coach's Corner" that has a verse that wouldn't sound out of place on alternative-rock radio and a weird as fuck cover of "Come To The Sabbot" (by some 60's English prog-band) as a hidden track. Amazing album.

STANDOUT TRACKS: "Night Letters", "Dear Coach's Corner", "The Funeral Procession" and "This Is Your Life".

IF YOU LIKE: "A Wilhelm Scream", "Death By Stereo", "Municipal Waste", "Bigwig" etc.

3. "AURORA" by THE DEER TRACKS ( v:2 | 2nd week)

http://www.myspace.com/thedeertracks

There is something about Scandinavians and their voices that are so beautiful and relaxing. The Deer Tracks are a brother/sister (although the brother is either dressing like a transgender/member of Aiden or some shit, but don't let that put you off) duo that blends gorgeous instrumentation and electronics with their beautiful, airy vocals. Comparisons can be drawn all across the board, from the chic-pop style of Bim, to the lofi electronic sound of early Styrofoam, all the way to the post-rock arrangements of Kyte and the glorious, over the top, dream pop niceties of Sigur Ros. One of the best chillout albums I can remember in a long time. I am confident this will be high up my year end list. 2nd week in the 'chart'.

STANDOUT TRACKS: "Christmas Fire", "127 Sex Fyra", "World of Abel" and "The Puzzled Piece".

IF YOU LIKE: "Mew", "Bim", "Kyte", "Stryofoam", "Sigur Ros" etc.

4. "XO" by LEATHERMOUTH ( n/a | 1st week)

http://www.myspace.com/leathermouthlives

Downloaded just for curiosity purposes. I mean, when the guitarist from My Chemical Romance fronts a hardcore band that's apparently a 'throwback' to 80's hardcore, you have to check it out. I gave it a listen last week and it didn't really do much for me, but this past week I've been in a very punk-rock mood, so revisited it. And it's really quite good. I mean, I think part of that's seemingly the 'novelty' value of it, but the guys screams are really good, his voice is abrasive, but not annoying. Tunes like "Sunsets Are For Muggings" and "Murder Was The Case They Gave Me" are huge. I'm sure if I professed my love to this there'd be a thousand people who'll bitch at me and name hundreds of hardcore albums better than this, but who gives a fuck, it's good, I'm surprised, I like it.

STANDOUT TRACKS: "Sunsets Are For Muggings", "Murder Was The Case They Gave Me", "Your Friends Are Full Of Shit" and "Catch Me If You Can".

IF YOU LIKE: "The Bronx", "Raised Fist" , "Defeater", "This Is Hell" etc.

5. "CRINGE FOR TWO YEARS IN..." by THE DESTROYED ROOM ( n/a | 1st week)

http://www.myspace.com/thedestroyedroom

Folk-Punk has become one of my favourite genres over the past year or so. The Destroyed Room are a band from Spain, who I accidentally stumbled across on one of the 'blogs' I frequent. Their stuff is generally more laid back, but when they do let go, such as in standout track like "City Of Birds", it's really a sound to behold. At only 8-tracks it is one of those albums that really leaves your mouth watering for more, but at the same time it's the perfect number (much like "Take Flight" by Pedals On Our Pirate Ships), as it's enough that it's not too short, but at the same time it's not too long that it outstays its welcome. I honestly have no idea if I will ever come across this band again, part of the problem with these small European bands is that unless they have an established cult fanbase elsewhere (BeerBong, Rentokill, Straightaway etc.) you have no idea when you'll come across their stuff again.

STANDOUT TRACKS: "City Of Birds", "This Is Not Texas (But We Can Still Get Lost Here)", "1989" and "Teaser".

IF YOU LIKE: "This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb", "Defiance, Ohio", "Ghost Mice", "Pedals On Our Pirate Ships" etc.

OTHER NOTABLE RELEASES FOR THE WEEK/SHIT I NOTICED THIS WEEK:

"No Sleep At All" by Creature

"Kicks" by 1990s

"Little Hells" by Marissa Nadler

"Invaders Must Die" by The Prodigy

"Love, Hate And Then There's You" by The Von Bondies

"Serf City USA" by The Have Nots

"The Airing Of Grievances" by Titus Andronicus

"Like Gum In Your Hair" by Count Your Blessings

"Radio Wars" by Howling Bells

"Oohs & Aahs" by Say Hi

"It Ain't About The Music" by Bedtime For Charlie

"Just Dance!" by The Doppler Effect [EP]

"Tyre Swans" by Tyre Swans

"Six Years" by Old School Freight Train (amazing cover of "Heart Of Glass" on here)

-------------------------------

"Not Without A Fight" by New Found Glory (v:from #2)

"Rules" by The Whitest Boy Alive (v:from #3)

"Fever Ray" by Fever Ray (v:from #4)

"Making Bets In A Burning House" by Union Square (v:from #5)

TOP 'SINGLES' OF THE WEEK:

1. "Fire Fire" by Jamie T ( ^:1 | 2nd Week)

2. "Obsessions" by Marina & The Diamonds ( ^:2 | 2nd Week)

3. "We All Sing Along" by The Bouncing Souls ( v:2 | 2nd Week)

4. "Drink Up And Good Health" by Greatest Hits ( n/a | 1st Week)

5. "Mind Ur Manners" by Patients ( ^:1 | 2nd Week)

6. "Day N Nite" by Kid Cudi ( v:1 | 3rd Week)

7. "Our Summer Kiss" by Moira Stewart ( - | 3rd Week)

8. "This Way" by Michelle Branch ( n/a | 1st Week)

9. "For Better For Worse" by Paige ( n/a | 1st Week)

10. "Happy Up Here" by Royksopp ( v:1 | 2nd Week)

BEST 'OLD' ALBUMS OF THE WEEK:

1. "Enema Of The State" by Blink 182 [1999]

2. "The Lonely Position Of Neutral" by TRUSTcompany [2002]

3. "Four Minute Mile" by The Get Up Kids [1997]

4. "Down In Albion" by Babyshambles [2005]

5. "The Redder, The Better" [EP] by Polar Bear Club [2006]

RECORDS I CAN'T WAIT FOR:

1. "Grace/Wastelands" by Pete Doherty

2. "Be Disappointed" by This Is A Standoff

3. "???" by Little Boots

4. "Junior" by Royksopp

5. "Loungecore" by Black Heart & The Pistoleros

ARTISTS TO KEEP YOUR EYE ON:

1. Owl City (Just signed to Universal Records, could be HUGE, the kind of music that makes both men and women swoon )

2. Marina & The Diamonds (Going to be one of the stars of the year, and if not this year, next year, it's guaranteed)

3. Slow Club (have their debut album coming out soon, insatiably cute boy/girl twee-pop duo from Sheffield. I expect indie love and a 'moderate/big' label snap-up by years out)

4. Little Boots (hard to argue with this, given the various media backing she's got, we're just in suspense waiting for it to happen)

5. Grammatics (have Virgin Media backing, plus at Gaslight/NME Awards Tour Show, like 3 of the tunes from their album were played over the PA)

GIGS NEWS (Looking like a few may be shafted due to lack of funds, but fuck, keeping options open):

18th February - Das Pop w/Absent Elk @ The End

7th March - Electric Six @ Academy

19th March - Pulled Apart By Horses w/We Versus The Shark @ The End

25th March - Paige and Me Vs Hero @ Academy 2

26th March - Pete Doherty @ Academy

5th April - Dananananaykroyd w/Dutch Uncles @ The End

6th April - The Prodigy w/Dizzee Rascal @ Metro Radio Arena

14th April - Versa Emerge w/Lights, Whole Wheat Bread and In This Moment @ Academy 2

20th April - Agent Orange @ Trillians -OR- The Virgins @ The Cluny ( :( )

21st April - In Flames w/Cancer Bats @ Academy 2

24th April - Shadows Chasing Ghosts @ Academy 2

27th April - Jeniferever @ The Cluny

6th May - This Is A Standoff w/Laughing In The Face of..., Newbridge Downfall and Tripdash @ Independent

24th May - SLAM DUNK 2009 w/Cobra Starship, Sonic Boom Six, Random Hand and Farse @ Leeds Union

GIG REVIEWS:

FRANK TURNER (February 8th @ Shepherds Bush Empire) - I have seen Frank Turner 3-times now in less than a year, all across the country; Newcastle, Leeds and now London. No matter where he is he can unite a room (or tent), no matter how big or small. To be fair he probably had a bigger crowd than Gaslight did. I know there's a few people on here who give him a bit of flack, but as a live performer, even though the times I've seen him, his setlist hasn't seen many, if any, changes, I've always been thoroughly entertained and if the opportunity came up again, say if he played Newcastle again, I'd probably go. I am still yet to see him solo-acoustic (as he had his band for the London date, unlike others on this tour apparently), so that's now what I want to see. He opened with "I Knew Prufrock..." and ended with "The Ballad...", with everything inbetween generally being the 'obvious' choices from "Love Ire & Song" with the exception of "Back In The Day" and "The Real Damage". GREAT!

THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM (February 8th @ Shepherds Bush Empire) - I have waited so long to finally catchy Gaslight Anthem again (having a ticket, but not the money to get down to last August's Manchester date, and being strapped for cash when decided whether or not to hit up the Glasgow date in December). It's quite sad I never got to see them in 'smaller' sized venues, given how long I've been following and pimping them, but I'm not one of those people that despises the fact I never saw them in a small venue, in fact, it's something I relish in, as it shows just how quickly the band has blown up, and as a fan that's an amazing feeling. Plus the fact they seem so overwhelmed with the success, with Fallon beaming down at one point saying "I've never seen so many people in one room". The setlist was very "59 Sound" heavy, but it's still an amazing record, I can deal with that. They did everything sans "Cassanova, Baby!" (which I saw at Leeds) from "The 59 Sound", as well as churning out "Boomboxes & Dictionaries", "Wooderson", "We Came To Dance", "Navesink Banks", "I'Da Called You Woody Joe" and "Drive" from their debut and everything besides the title track from the "Señor And The Queen" EP. A Pearl Jam cover was also thrown in for good measure, rounding off a truly breathtaking gig. FUCKING AMAZING!

POLAR BEAR CLUB (February 8th @ Shepherds Bush Empire) - I have been a fan of PBC since their debut EP, "The Redder, The Better" surfaced in 2006. Despite releasing a full length last year, this EP was far from forgotten with them playing either 2 or 3 tracks from it (I know they did "Parked In The Parking Lot Of Your Heart" and "Resent And Resitance", I think I recognised "Election Day", but I'm not sure). There were small areas of the audience really into the performance and others happily bobbing their heads along. Great performance, vocals got lost a little bit, but they were brimming with energy. In a small venue, filled with people all singing along they have the potential to be one of the best live acts out there today. Alongside "Parked In The Parking Lot..." other standouts in the set include massive sing-along numbers; "Hollow Place", "Our Ballads" and "Burned Out In A Jar" from the album "Sometimes Things Just Disappear". The band also 'premiered' a new track, which was more high-tempo but still mixed in their tendency for little syncopated parts/breakdowns. Only downside was the lack of "Most Miserable Life", which would be a perfect set ender (and is my favourite PBC song), the band instead preferring for the good, if a bit dirgey, "Bug Parade" instead. Back over here May/June with Crime In Stereo, I'm hoping to catch them again (maybe twice, as they're apparently playing "Slam Dunk"). GREAT!

FITTY OF THE WEEK:

Rebecca (of "Slow Club")

[ADG]

Friendly Fires on the 7th of May? I may just have to go.

[Turbo Yannis]

See, I knew a meet up would be a good idea

[Mr Evil Guy]

New Swan Lake is good. Especially Paper Lace. Paper Lace is insane.

[LittleDaniel]

"The Airing of Grevances" by Titus Andronicus

Saw them opening up fro Los Campesinos, were decently fun, especially when the lead singer broke an amp during their first song, but when I listen to their CD it only does something for me on rare occassions.

That being said, the first song on the album has a great outro, really playing up the band's name.

[TheRossWalker]

Prodigy has leaked. Gonna listen after the Milan derby.

[YI]

...Ben Cooper... :wub:

Between Electric President, Radical Face and now Patients...I might love this guys music so much, I'd probably let him jizz somewhere on me.

"DOOR WAYS!!!" FUCK YEAH!!! He had an unnamed instrumental on the Radical Face site about a year ago, which was just a really cool syncopated piano part and over the top lavish strings, that sounded like it was the music to a banking advert or something, and it's on here. FUCK YEAH!!! Love it.

Edited February 15, 2009 by YI

[YI]

How come I only found out about Slow Club a matter of weeks ago...seriously, I never thought I'd find another 'band' as 'cute' and 'stereotypically-twee' than Los Campesinos! but it's been done. What an adorable video.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...ideoid=46879116

Awesome.