The Vex

There is a distinct maturity to the sound, yet a strange familiarity, far more Clash 2nd coming referencing and I feel the need the need to point out here –  in my head - The Clash Mark I was a far better band, but let me set aside my Parallel Lines . Oh we are pulling in the New Wave band wagon here…

It is difficult not to draw comparisons with what came before, but let me grab my head and think of The Vex as The Vex not Krakatoa Mark II.

The Vex offer a depth of instrumental reflective that snags the Ennio Morricone , without becoming subsumed by shoe-gaze. There is a powerful under-current of  anger which spills out of the speakers. The lyrics are reflective of the world around and the whole-output searches for an alternative, rather than a barrage of angst.

The guys hold  a mirror to the listener, seeking responses rather than answers and this is where The Vex add a distinctive layer to the world of music, it is the listener challenged with the questions, not the performers providing the solutions.

website

Just pondering whether The Vex are becoming subsumed in their own PR, as the new websites are appended with ‘Official’. With an open mind, I look forward to having some more to tell you in future missives

For the best in indie music from around the world join the indie bands blog on twitter.

Stairs to Korea

I could waffle for hours about Will Vaughan, but I am unsure that it would add much to the jot of the experience of a solo artist who has a sound which explains it’s own roots.

website

That said, I couldn’t leave it there. Stairs to Korea is a scintillating wrap of the cynical world of commercial pap and oh does Will Vaughan turn on the acid. This is a smart recapture of the world by an artist who has taken a joust with the mainstream and in my head this reverberates as the resounding winner.

Join the indie bands blog on facebook for more of the best in emerging bands from around the world.

Grande

The hum of power-plugs come out of the speakers as Grande fuzz the laid-back indie rock which emerges in to the room. This is good solid music, not seeking to strain the leashes of the genre, rather taking an even more lo-fi approach which sits squarely within the out-put. There is plenty to entertain the ears, as the band ensure the distortion doesn’t crowd out the music, rather making it seem more oppressive and strangely, powerful.

There is no need for the serried ranks of strident guitar, as the compositions have a depth and resonance built in to the texture of the sound. It would be interesting to find out why they switched from English to native Hungarian and I must find out one day. For what-ever reason, the sincerity of  the vocal ensures it fits neatly in to the slot.

There is nothing demanding from Grande, rather a decent sound which ensures the audience are left with a wish to hear more.

website

For more of the best music from around the world, join the indie bands blog on twitter.

Talk to Angels

For more on Talk to Angels.

Join the indie bands blog on twitter for the best music from around the world.

Seluah _ Red Parole

Opening with We May Never Make It Home, Seluah are a far weightier band (and I am not referencing  waistbands). The band adds a couple of additions for this track and makes full use of the added instrumentation with a sharp intake back to the ’70s festival zone. Immediately the listener is riveted to a genuinely crafted track which resonates with a shining piece of guitar work – simple yet elegant, which is something of a context changer with the ‘festival’ referencing – think more an Oberammergau experience, set to floating psychedelic rock and the decade between performance seems apposite, rather than the mud at Woodstock.

The Other Side Of The Gun builds gently as the band recede in to the shadows, tempting the ears to chase the music, yet each guess is off the space that Seluah lead, so the whole experience of the track becomes a zig-zag of listener playing catch-up – delicious.

Seluah, “The Other Side of the Gun” by karatebody

The release heads to Killing The Angels, which, well with the bass that challenges the speakers – particularly when on full blast – how could this not make sense to my ears.  Seluah wrest the meat from the bones as the basic instincts of survival and I find my mind wandering off to the Lascaux paintings, this is primeval and thank you Karate Body Records for getting in-line with this release.

Sail Straight Into The Bombs paints images of a high flying plain, Seluah comprises not merely capable musicians but very smart songwriters. The bass is lost until we are up to altitude as the resonance of flying though the clouds hits the ears.

This may be a story of an ocean voyage, but far more importantly it is the tale that envelopes the listeners ear.

Black Sand finds the band back with a construction that delves the depths of the lower keys, set to a slower tempo, there is a sense of  ’awareness of concern’ which is picked through with stingingly sharp direction.

Drifting on to Hell And Back the sounds floating around the room resonate with acoustics as the synchronicity of electricity and tempo slide the track towards a staged rock opera.

I feel I have been on a sojourn as the penultimate track Disengage sets stall that we are nearing journeys end. Suddenly my feet are tapping to rock-a-billy and life is looking good, I have survived the release – but, I just want to play it all again.

For the finale -  Elysian Fields – wanders to a more ethereal space and there is a sense that Seluah are not to be expected to return soon as the mind is drawn to the spaceship heading off from earth. Let’s hope there is not another decade to wait for the next release.

While awaiting the LP – The Other Side of the Gun is available on *

Join the indie bands blog on facebook for more of the best in indie music from around the world.

*Purchases made through the link will result in the indie bands blog earning a commission

Rugosa Nevada

I have had the opportunity to listen to the new release, which finds the band has grown in composition and sound structure, this will be a great release which finds the band exploring bass and space to potentially take their profile a higher notch.

Whilst the development has found the band heading more mainstream, this transition has not been at the cost of originality. Listening to material of various ages, the progression of the band is evident, much like a taking a wine En primeur, there is ever the chance the investment would be pointless, with Rugosa Nevada it appears that investment has already reaped dividends and who knows how much better they will become.

The band play with assurance as they carefully till the land seeking out new nuggets, which they have carefully nurtured. They are not seeking to set new directions, rather add a layer of value to an existing genre and their distinctive vocal and guitar lends that added something.

website

The EP – Until Bleeding is available on *

Join the indie bands blog on google+ for more of the best in emerging bands from around the world.

*Purchases made through the link will result in the indie bands blog earning a commission.

Take One Car

For some reason, I thought Pea and Ham Soup, a hearty lunch for a cold day. I have mentioned before, I am sure, that these reviews are written on my first in-depth listening to a band, as it makes the whole review an honest thought process, you read what comes in to my head, not a 4th edit after hours of listening to albums, back-catalogue and various formats. As part of that process, when I come to adding an image to the article, which is done before the main body of the text, I have the music on and below where the image will sit, I write what ever is in my head and on this occasion it was Pea and Ham Soup. Take One Car plays a hearty mix of guitar led rock which stirs memories of long forgotten classics – hence Pea and Ham Soup – any way, enough of my head-space.

The band pull together disparate threads of thought and utilise their abilities as musicians to regurgitate this in the appropriate manner and as such they explore a range of tempo, construction and this lends Take One Car its disparate out-put. Wherever it lies, it doesn’t sound like the vocal was forced in to the music or vice-versa, they have the confidence and ability to explore the sound that makes most of the thought process and for this, I give a warm welcome to the band for the first time on the indie bands blog.

Sitting down to listen to the band is akin to going to a rock music festival, the sheer range of direction has a quick check to ensure this is just the one band. The commonality being the guitar led material and the over-all roll of the surf.

I would imagine it is this sheer depth of ability and fearless desire to capture the moment, which means that the band are set to release only their second LP after four years. Though I have not had the opportunity to see the band live, I anticipate it to be an engaging experience, which would drive the audience to want to hear them again, but from a more ‘career’ driven path one that would leave A&R Scouts lost in a whirl of confusion.

website

The new release – It’s Going To Be A Nice Day – is due out on February 21st which I hope to be able to review, that will explain the Pea and Ham Soup.

Join the indie bands blog on google+ for more of the best in music around the world.

Vaganza Trailerpark

The Five track EP opens with classic guitar but none of the clichéd feedback. Punk is a raucous opener, with burning energy which sears through the speakers. Volume of drum is permitted to rise above the barrage of guitar until the guttural vocal interjects and the instrumentation becomes the supporting act.

Dhaka Girl provides a glimpse in to the real strengths of the band, as a a raging tempo finds the band working together in a far more harmonious format as they make full use of the instruments and the overall effect is captivating. The vocal is permitted to soar like a hunting eagle far above the ground as the instrumentation adds an ever present menace.

I know that Radio, continues to showcase the abilities of the band, with the sound pared back further, almost creating the sense of music through a tunnel as the vocal leads the direction of travel. This is a well written track, it retains all the essential ingredients of a thumping rock song, yet manages to do it with subtlety.

Vaganza Dynamite, is as you would expect from the title – rapid, explosive and to the point. Opening with a screaming vocal, this doesn’t try to be anything other than what it is, crunching rock music.

The EP finishing with the appropriately named Final Round – finds the band in classic American Blues Rock territory and once again the quintet raise the bar.

… and you will know us by the trail of pink feathers is an entertaining EP, which affords Vaganza Trailerpark the space to demonstrate their skills, without it ever becoming self-indulgent.

… and you will know us by the trail of pink feathers is available on *

Join the indie bands blog on facebook for more of the best in music from around the world.

*Purchases made through the link will result in the indie bands blog earning a commission.

She's a Beauty

She’s a Beauty review – November 2011.

She’s a Beauty have made a signed copy of their recent release Champagne and Skittles available to one lucky reader of the Indie Bands Blog Newsletter. Sign up for the free newsletter by the 3rd February 2012 to be in with a chance.

Delica-m

Perhaps it is because I was just reading a press release about a Metal Festival, but the vocal is a touch of magic with Delica-m, taking the band away from an arty electro-band to something far darker as the transfixing vocal fills the room.

Interestingly the tracks are fairly lengthy, normally running at well over 4 minutes and regularly stretching to a full 5, but my sparrow mind remains completely locked in to the sound floating around the room. For sure the band can and do wander in to the spaces of Human League, but their real strength lies in the juxtaposition of directed vocal and wandering synths, more akin to Tubeway Army, if for some reason I need to narrow this down further and yes, I feel that need.

The keyboards are set free to explore a myriad of spaces, whilst a deep burgundy velvet gloved tempo massages the music forwards and a guitar frames the output. You can’t help but get the feeling you have stumbled in to an invitation only goth party as Delica-m stand nearby proffering  VIP tickets. Do you take the invitation, or run a mile, I suggest far better to accept and wallow in the resonating sounds that will bounce inside your head.

website

Hyperstimulus is avaible on *

For more of the best in music from around the world, join the indie bands blog on facebook.

*Purchases made through the link will result in the indie bands blog earning a commission.