Tripwires’ debut album has been a long time coming, but now the release is finally on the horizon. I guess if new taster track and first single, Shimmers, is anything to go by then the phrase ‘all good things come to those who wait’ springs to mind.

Shimmers showcases the band’s perfectly crafted sound. They have taken time to create hone their skills and have perfected atmospheric low-fi indie that will undoubtedly make the masses sit up and listen.

The guitar progression on this track is slow burn starting with a gentle melody before breaking into stronger, driving chords paired with laid back vocals melodically bringing the track together.

There are definitely hints of Radiohead and early Muse thanks to low-fi guitar scuzz paired with creeping nonchalant lyrics.

Hailing from Reading, Surrey, these guys are making standout atmospheric indie-pop that wouldn’t have sounded out of place amongst the shoegaze and psychedelia of the nineties/ early noughties chart-toppers.

Catch them at The Great Escape festival, Brighton, next weekend before they rocket to well-deserved success with the release of  their debut album, Spacehopper in June.

Crayola Lectern (a.k.a ex-Spiritulized member Chris Anderson) has just released a video for his track ‘Slow Down’, taken from the debut album The Rise And Fall Of…

It’s a beautiful and ponderous clip which perfectly suits the tone of Crayola Lectern’s piano-heavy ballad.

The Rise And Fall Of… is available now via Bleeding Heart Records.

Self-described ‘voodoo sci-fi blues’ band Vienna Ditto have just unveiled the video for the title track from their critically-acclaimed E.P. Liar Liar.

Energetic percussion, grungy riffs, and bewitching vocals, all work to make ‘Liar Liar’ an exciting and stand-out track.

The edgy attitude of the song is nailed in this simple, but fun, gender-bender of a video clip.

Liar Liar is available now.

Singer song-writer Max Kinghorn-Mills records under the name Wildeflower and is EP Nothing Happens is expected in June.  A single is due out to promote the EP and features three tracks out of the EP.

A sweet, mellow and optimistic acoustic folk; Wildeflower recalls the likes of Fairport Convention but also Crosby, Stills and Nash.  The melodies are well constructed and the guitar flows warmly like melting butter.

The first track is a rambling, light and positive folk style song called Harbour and Good Company.  The lyrics are soft tinged and Max’s voice is well suited to singing folk music, it’s a very gentle style that has a decent amount of vocal range.

All Year Round is a lush instrumental song that showcases the guitar skills as a soft, melody is picked out and then accompanied by a melodic, if a bit amateurish selection of other instruments.  The whole thing feels like it’d be very much at home in a barn somewhere and it has a sweet, rustic sound.

The single concludes with the slightly more up-tempo Circles Expands which is the most like Crosby, Stills and Nash and also evokes a bit of Jonni Mitchell in places too.  The guitar work is the highlight in this track as a steady, fast paced rhythm is picked out around a steady, sunbeam of vocals.

Max is clearly a talented musician and his other tracks also showcase his undoubted talents.  The music itself is likable and melodic, perfect accompaniment to a sunny Summer afternoon, assuming we have any this year.

Sunshine is optional but the lyrics and music from Nothing Happens may warm you up a bit anyway.

Derail is the new single from Dinosaur Pile-Up’s sophomore album Nature Nuture, released on 17 June. I have to say, the album has quite a cool, eye-catching cover. It shows a guy landing flat on his face against a vibrant amber background. In fact this alt-rock group from Leeds clearly put a lot of thought into the image they put out. The video for this single is quite striking too, offering an Americana-crime movie feel to the song. But the song itself? First off, it should be said that Dinosaur Pile-Up are a very specific taste and, I assume, cater to emo-friendly teenagers. I am not one of those kids, nor do I listen to anything in that ballpark; and yet, I think this is a decent tune. It admittedly panders to a standard pop formula but has enough balls behind it to get away with that. The verses are simple but, again, the driving beat keeps you involved.

The one major fault is the repetitiveness of the choruses, particularly at the end. This song could have easily, and wisely, had 30 seconds or so shaved off the end. But this is a common occurrence (a common mistake?) as, chances are, there’s always some record label suit barking “More chorus!” in the studio. To paraphrase Christopher Walken, ‘record labels have a fever and the only prescription is more chorus’.  I wish they’d fuck off down to Boots instead though so I don’t have to listen to seven choruses in every song. I think fans of Dinosaur Pile-Up, and their contemporaries such as Pulled Apart by Horses or Grammatics, are going to lap up this song but it won’t turn people like me onto them. At least not yet. There is something there with this band though, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they knocked out a surprise summer hit someday. Already a fan of Dinosaur Pile-Up? Go out and buy Derail and show your love. Not convinced by Dinosaur Pile-Up yet? Then watch this space.

Gav Duffy

Delta Mainline- Oh! Enlightened

Scottish band Delta Mainline have received their fair share of crtical acclaim but are yet to break into the big time. Maybe not following the current trend of adopting accent heavy singing voices has prevented them reaching the same success level as Biffy Clyro or even Twin Atlantic. If anything, there’s a hint of U2 to their sound, at times seeming like Bono’s side project. New album ‘Oh! Enlightened’, however, could be what thrusts them into the limelight. There’s even an exclamation mark to get everyone excited.

Before we get started, there’s an important point to make. This album doesn’t work on shuffle. It has to be enjoyed in order and, if you can, in one go. The songs aren’t interlinked, they just work better as an ensemble. Tus Nua certainly doesn’t need to be heard in any other situation, as it only serves as an introduction.

Misinformation is allowed to skip introducing itself because of the segway it has already been given and announce its presence on the record. It also sets a tone for what to expect from the album; falling into the trap of realising distorting vocals make for a cool effect, but overdoing it a little so there’s a genuine struggle to understand the words (this is particularly noticable in Self Inflicted, a track which you’ll have to listen to a few times just to check the first word isn’t, in fact, “lemonade”).

Stop This Feeling and The Church is Up For Sale opt for more melancholy beginnings, rather than starting fast and loud. If you don’t find yourself enjoying The Church Is Up For Sale after 2 minutes, you may aswell skip to the next track and save yourself the remaining 4 minutes, it sticks with the slow music + barely understandable words throughout. Stop This Feeling‘s tempo change midway prevents it running the same risk as Home to You and lingering on the edge of boring. The vocals are clearer, filled with emotion and complimented by the acoustic guitar but it feels like it’s been done to death. There’s also too much tambourine. I can’t stress that enough. Too. Much. Tambourine.

Dark Energy is one of the low points of the album, ruined again by the decision for any words being impossible to decipher and, in this case, being few and far between. Of all the songs that would fit being lyric-lite, this isn’t one of them (The Strange Fate of Raoul Duke would be the best of them all if they’d dared to leave it as just a musical stop-gap between tracks). To start with, it feels like there’s something missing and, when it picks up a minute and a half in, it feels like there needs to be something important that people should be hearing having the time dedicated to it but they’re wasting the opportunity (singing something about dark energy). It also makes the mistake of using the “our instruments have gone insane and now there’s feedback and stuff” ending, which only works if you’ve been going wild with them to begin with.

When listening to this album, you get the sense very early on that Delta Mainline are more concerned about what’s going on musically than if their lyrics are audible or good. In that respect, they’re solid enough. You get the feeling like they’re very well rehearsed and have put a lot of time and effort into what they do. It’s worth a listen, the mix of slow and fast means there’s likely to be something you’ll like, whether you like to find yourself immersed in a smooth, acoustic melody or throwing yourself into musical chaos. Occasionally, it verges on pretentious but so does a lot of stuff people listen to, so that shouldn’t stop people giving it a go.

https://twitter.com/vulturehound/status/332224622747590657

Winners will be announced next Tuesday.

Combining drums and bass,Indian vibes ,dub beats and punk rock influences with hard hitting lyrics, Asian Dub Foundation return to the London stage for the first time in over a year on May 17th at the O2 Indigo Arena.

Here is a taste of the riotous night you can expect footage of Asian Dub Foundation Paris at the Chorus Festival on April 20th 2013 filmed by Daphne Dahrendorf

Asian Dub Foundation have always been at the forefront of musical innovation and the show will see the band debut songs from their forthcoming album ‘Signal and The Noise‘ produced by legendary producer Adrian Sherwood.

The show also marks the return of original member Dr Das, drummer Rocky Singh, Ghetto Priest and will also feature Nathan ‘Flutebox’ Lee. This reunification of Steve Savale and Dr Das means Asian Dub Foundation will be more powerful than ever.

Dr Das remarks ‘The new albums done. The mixes are identifiably Adrian Sherwood with a new take on old skool ADF vibes. We’re very happy with how its turned out. We are now rehearsing the band and it sounds heavy. We cant wait to get out there and play it live.’

Following Asian Dub Foundations’ performance at the O2 Indigo Arena, they  headline  Bearded Theory Festival on May 18th,Knockengorroch World Ceilidh 0n 25th May and more performances to be announced shortly.

These live dates follow the unveiling of their new single “Back 2 The Wild”, which is released on 20^th May through 37 Adventures. This new track is quintessentially Jaxx  – a super heavy weight groove featuring vocals from Korean singers Miss Emma Lee and Baby Chay, as well as tribal horns recorded in Kenya.  Having already been widely received as a tent-topping Carnival anthem, “Back 2 The Wild” looks set to re-establish Basement Jaxx at the top of the UK dance scene.

The tour comes at the end of this year, kicking off in Leeds on the 28^th November and hitting major venues in the big northern cities before finishing in 02 Academy Brixton, London on the 6^th December.

These tickets will go on general on sale on Friday 10th May at 9am at www.basementjaxx.com.

28/11 – 02 Academy Leeds 
29/11 – 02 Apollo Manchester
01/12 – 02 Academy Newcastle 
05/12 – 02 Academy Birmingham 
06/12 – 02 Academy Brixton 

Youth Lagoon has unveiled the video for ‘Mute’, the latest single from his sophomore album Wondrous Bughouse.

Directed by Tyler T. Wiliams, the video is a 90s-teen skateboard-odyssey, blending the mundane with the fantastic; the perfect visual companion to Youth Lagoon’s grand and sweeping slice of glimmering indie-pop.

Youth Lagoon has also announced a number of UK tour dates scheduled to take place this summer. Idaho-native Trevor Powers has been steadily gaining a reputation as a compelling live act, most recently wowing audiences at SXSW. His string of UK dates also includes a co-headline show with CocoRosie.

Live dates:

July 15  Leeds, Brudenell Social Club

July 16  Manchester, Gorilla

July 18  Birmingham, Hare&Hounds

July 20  London, The Barbican (co-headline show with CocoRosie)

Youth Lagoon’s Wondrous Bughouse is available now on Fat Possum.

Lead singer Dale Norton says that the release is inspired by the band’s experiences during last summer’s festival season: ‘plagued by torrential rain, I waded through T-in the Park’s Scottish mud and stopped at the live arena to witness hundreds of mini-events unfold. Couples tearing each other apart whilst flocks of drug-infused followers droned on. Groups of new-found friends danced without a care for time, or the knowledge that their tent had also been engulfed by the torrent. All this was being fuelled by the music -  the songs on this EP are anchored to these and our own experiences. Those people were in the moment and we want our music to be there when it happens again’.

Taken from the EP, their new track ‘Alarms’ is a great example of the group’s confident psych-rock compositions. It’s a dark and moody number, reminiscent of Pixies, packed with vast amounts of sexy, swaggering bass and attitude. ‘Alarms’ is currently featured on the new Burberry Spark sunglasses campaign.

Broken Hands are also preparing to hit the road over the summer months with a number of gigs ranging from low-profile free gigs to an impressive turn supporting The Rolling Stones at Hyde Park.

Live dates:

May 15           London, Old Blue Last (free show)

June 21           Tooting, Tram & Social (The Remedy – John Kennedy XFM) *w/Exit Calm

July 6              London, Hyde Park BST Festival *w/The Rolling Stones/Vaccines/Palma Violets

July 7              Liverpool, X&Y Festival *w/Dog Is Dead/Friends

July 27             Kent, Lounge on the Farm Festival *w/Seasick Steve/Jessie Ware/Tribes

Down By The Current is available now from iTunes.