Directed by Douglas Hart, original bass player with The Jesus and Mary Chain, the video exhibits a raw, riotous & feverish vivacity infused with the artists’ trademark punk rock ethos to convey the song’s deep political message.

Written about Carlo Giuliani, an autonomist protestor killed in the 2001 G8 demonstrations in Genoa, ‘Autonomia‘ features Bobby Gillespie’s frenetic call-and-response chant with Mark Stewart.

Mark Stewart explains that when he started writing the song

“It was kind of like a protest song … afterwards I started getting on with Bobby, who was interested in politics and I asked Adrian [Sherwood] about doing it. It’s important that people hear about the story, it’s the message and the atmosphere as much as anything.”

“Starting out as a teenager in the late 70s with the Pop Group and thru the 80’s with the Maffia up to his new solo record, Mark Stewart has led the attack on conformist reality. Mark is a constant inspiration and a true Thief of Fire. A poet of paranoia and a great laugh. What a guy.” – Primal Scream

Joining Bobby Gillespie and Primal Scream on the album is cult film-maker Kenneth Anger, original Clash/PiL guitarist Keith Levene, NYC punk innovator Richard Hell, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Gina Birch of the Raincoats, Slits bassist Tessa Pollitt, Jesus And Mary Chain bassist Douglas Hart, Factory Floor, and Daddy G of Massive Attack. r dub vibe.  Throbbing bass lines and crisp snares were tangled with

‘Autonomia’ by Mark Stewart is due for release through Future Noise Music on 2oth February.

Picture of Pulp

Britpop has been retired for some 15 summers now. It showered itself in glory for two bright years but the fame became too powerful and Britpop eventually swallowed itself whole, omitting the painful stench of excessive flatulence as it went.

However, sat slippered and bloated in its easy armchair, it can look back with pride on some of the cheeky scamps it spawned; mouthy chancers who could write glorious pop songs with verve and wit. And at the heart of that family is the bastard child called Pulp. The gangly, gawky interloper who finally found a home and friends in the mid 90s. But for Pulp, the story had begun long, long ago.

Three is not the magic number for Pulp. The band’s fourth album, His ‘n Hers, finally propelled them from the wings where they’d waited for 16 years. Most bands would have given up long before. But then most bands don’t have a Jarvis Cocker at their heart. And Jarvis Cocker’s strange and beguiling heart beats throughout the band’s first three albums.

Perhaps in light of Pulp’s recent comeback, Fire Records has decided to reissue the band’s early back catalogue: It (1983), Freaks (1987) and Separations (1992). Some of the tracks previously appeared on Countdown: 1992-1983, which Cocker compared to a “garish old family photo album” on its release and urged fans not to waste their money.

Like the awkward teenager, whose skin is too taunt for misplaced bones, Pulp needed time to grow into themselves. So it’s fair to say that, on their own, neither of these reissues is a pop classic. But then it can be fun flicking through old photo albums.

It is a collection of folky, whimsical portraits, all summer haze in the daisy parks. Cocker’s love of Scott Walker shines through on tracks like My Lighthouse and Wishful Thinking. And there are vocal mirrors reflecting the inflections of Morrissy. The acoustic arrangements are sparse and the lyrical honesty is a world-apart from the word-played wit that became Cocker’s calling card.

Jump forward four years to 1987 and Cocker has collected a new set of musicians, including Russell Senior, who would become an integral part of the band. Senior expanded Pulp’s sonic range, giving Cocker the scope to travel through darker landscapes. On Freaks his voice has changed, from the earnest wonderings on It, to a brooding, half-spoken, half-sung delivery, telling tales on the seedier underbelly of suburbia. The album is a midnight fairground ride, ringing with carnival chords borrowed from The Doors and an art-school ethic straight from the Velvet Underground.

By the time Separations was released in 1992, three years after it was recorded, Pulp already had pop gems including Babies and Lipgloss in their set. The album can’t match the band’s evolving songwriting skills and it never quite reaches the claustrophobic heights of Freaks. However, the first half showcases Cocker’s growing confidence and lyrical mischief: Don’t You Want Me Anymore contains the fantastic line “I’ve never seen you look as ugly as you did that night”. The second side of the album is an experiment with acid house stylings. It never quite works but did spawn the brooding frustrations of My Legendary Girlfriend.

Pulp fans will lap up the reissues. However, the albums are also well worth exploring on their own terms, especially Freaks. They contain all of the pieces that Pulp would eventually meld together; humour, pop-eared radars, delicious hooks and a kitchen sink disposition. Some bands were born and died within the confines of Britpop. Pulp were much too smart to implode. Their roots stretch back to 1978 and the strange teenage visions of Jarvis Cocker. Exploring those visions across a changing landscape is time and money well spent. All three albums have been remastered and repackaged and come complete with bonus tracks and liner notes from Everett True.

Field Music

It seems nobody is ever indifferent to Field Music. Fans of their distinctive albums and joyful yet precise live shows love their intricate melodies and unusual time signatures, but to others they are just pretentious pseuds. The way the brothers Brewis grin at each other as they roam a stage swapping instruments can be mistaken for them being too pleased with themselves – I think they just love what they do. Dismissing them, and leaving before the end, my friend quipped that they might write a musical next…..

Perhaps with Plumb they have:

From the opening bars of “Start the day right” there is a whiff of musical theatre about this album. Close your eyes and you can see the Brewis boys arms outstretched West End musical style. But this is not a big departure, if  you didnt like the 3 albums released since they formed in 2004, you wont  like this. It is unmistakeably, brilliantly Field Music.

2nd track “Its OK to change”(of course they havent) has a signature nagging baseline and fades to an eerie sound of running water at the end which bleeds into “Sorry again mate”, mournful tuba and the usual close harmonies. Church bells on “A new town” add to the  eerie mood but this track is just an interlude really. Such slivers of music are a feature of the record creating atmoosphere(and explaining why an album shy of 40 minutes has 15 tracks.

The middle stretches of the album are characterised by more prominent guitars, bigger chords and piano such as on “Choosing sides”

“Who’ll pay the bills” is classic Field Music reminiscent of XTC, an easy comparison but they are no mere copyists, lush strings and orchestration on “So long then” is inimitably them. as is the beautiful mournful vocal interlude of “How many more times” in which they enquire solemnly, how many more times will you see the moon?

This is expansive ambitious music which repays repeated listening, there are fewer obvious pop singles than on earlier albums but “A new thing”, available pre release as a free download on the website is a contender, closing the Album on an upbeat note. My favourite though is ” Just like everyone else”(one thing you cant say about Field Music who are  quite unique) a trademark nagging bassline and insistent drumbeat which put me in mind of Secret Machines masterpiece “What used to be French”

This is a wonderful record- Classic Field Music, the same but different to what they have done before. If you like it look out for Brewis solo efforts; David released “Sea from shore” under the name School of Language in 2008 and Peter released an album under the name “The week that was“  the same year

This year, a new Peter Brewis solo work “One copy” can only be heard at The Lauriston Gallery in Sale(until January 17th), because there is only one copy…………now maybe that is a little bit pretentious?

Field Music release new album ‘Plumb‘ on the 13th of February on Memphis Industries.

The Ambience - Colour In Silence

Before the mid/late eighties gazing at shoes was the domain of the shy, the guilty or the fashionistas. Then, with My Bloody Valentine blazing the way, a clutch of young men and women took to conducting sonic experiments, with reverb, echo and delay, so complex that eyes, at all times, had to be glued to a blur of feet and foot pedals.

If the musicians had to gaze at their shoes, then audiences were mostly gazing at the stars, floating away on dream-soaked vapour trails played at ear-melting volume. In a few short years My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Slowdive and The Verve left indelible footprints in the minds of many young fans. And then rock and fizzy Brit pop kicked the gentle souls aside and those who gazed at shoes were mocked and then forgotten.

Or not quite forgotten, as Colour in Silence testifies. Album opener Falsifier sets the tone, with glistening guitars, chiming chord changes and a freedom to break beyond the confines of verse, chorus monotony.  Influences are clear, as a buzz saw action closes the track with all the verve and love of Kevin Shields at his tremolo best.

My Legacy simmers as The Ambience build layer upon layer, before exploding into storms in heaven. Their ability to heighten the intensity of a groove, without shifting key or tempo is reminiscent of The Verve’s early material and the middle section of the album has the footprints of Wigan’s finest all over it.

The Ambience also have the ability to nail magnetic, melodic hooks that linger long. Closing track Love’s Attendant Traumas is a great example. There’s nothing wrong with a stadium-sized chorus when it’s not weighed down by rock ‘n’ roll clichés and on Love’s Attendant Traumas the band combines subtle arrangements and swirling pools of reverbed orchestration with a loud and proud refrain that wouldn’t be out of place under a Wembley sky.

The album will soon be released digitally on Brigadier Records. Be one of the first to know when and get a sneak preview of My Legacy.

Low

Whispers in hushed corners. A shine of recognition in soft-set eyes. And then the conversation moves on and all that’s left is a beer-soaked commitment to delve into Low’s back catalogue. Sadly, beer-soaked commitments often evaporate. So Low continued to serenely fly below my shoddy radar. Until now. A lame excuse for Low fans who want to know how C’mon sits within a career spanning 18 years.

The band took flight in an indie scene where maximum volume and chainmail riffs were king.  They decided to put themselves to the sword by turning down and playing with minimal arrangements, delicately stitched around simple and lilting chord patterns. At gigs audiences began to chatter with growing impatience. Low responded by turning down even more. In the alternative rock scene of the 90s, this was akin to putting your head on the block.

But gentler souls in college-yard towers heard the call and opened their hearts. Low blossomed and have been shivering spines with slithers of musical beauty ever since…so the story goes. And listening to C’mon, it’s an easy story to believe.

Opening track Try to Sleep is a chiming lullaby that is the moon-lit precursor to the Velvet’s Sunday Morning. The melancholy harmonies of husband and wife Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker, as they sing “You try to sleep but then you never wake up”, have the power to gently fracture the heart.

 Sparhawk’s edgier delivery has the thrust and bite of Nick Cave and Roky Erickson and is offset by Parker’s ethereal, dew-sprung tones. The two alternate vocal duties, striking out on their own before returning and intertwining with ivy-wrapped power.

Sparse arrangements are given room to soar, let loose by the natural reverb of the high-vaulted church the album was recorded in. $20 is drenched with the warmth of this space, as the album winds down to a slow-motion intensity.

Lyrically the album is introspective, laying vague snow-crunched footprints to tales of fragile emotions and naked-heart love.  For songs that are layered with such slow-burning passion, it feels natural that the topics they cover are the oldest in the book.

Low fans have had to wait four years for the follow-up to Drums and Guns. C’mon is the beguiling, beckoning finger that will temp them, and new converts, into the world of a band that write, sing and play from the core of their feelings.

Visit the band’s website for details of their US and European tour, that begins on 14 April.

Listen to Try to Sleep.

Death Cab For Cutie

Long known for their ingenious and imaginative videos, Atlantic recording group Death Cab for Cutie are poised to make history with the companion clip for their hugely anticipated new single, You Are A Tourist.

Directed by award-winning filmmaker Tim Nackashi (TV On The Radio, OK Go, Elvis Costello, Radiohead), and conceptualized by frequent collaborator Aaron Stewart-Ahn, You Are A Tourist will be the first ever live, scripted, single-take music video to be broadcast as it is filmed.

You will be able to watch the action unfold before your very eyes at midnight tonight via the streaming device below:

Can't see the stream on your mobile device? Click here.

You Are A Tourist is the first single from Death Cab for Cutie’s eagerly awaited new album, CODES AND KEYS, which is scheduled for release on 30th May.

You can hear the full stream of You Are a Tourist here.

Horse Guards Parade - Ten Songs

Several years in the making, the Horse Guards Parade are about to release their carefully honed debut album Ten Songs, a collection of  quirky and quintessentially British pop tunes written with a light comic touch.

It is no surprise to learn that the band have recently been touring in support of the likes of Jarvis Cocker and Pavement, there are similarities to be heard in parts of the Horse Guards Parades debut.

It’s the strength of the band’s songs that has attracted regular airtime on BBC 6 Music and BBC Radio 2 among others, completing sessions for BBC introducing and Simon Mayo along the way.

The band was also asked to play at the Pavement curated All Tomorrow’s Party festival, as well as supporting the iconic band for a show at Glasgow’s Barrowlands. There’s certainly something of Stephen Malkmus’ lyrical sharpness to the record, although Waudby claims he is just as inspired by literary influences;

“It’s mainly writers such as Henry Miller, Charles Bukowski, Brett Easton Ellis and Larkin who inspire my lyrics, but I also get inspired by the work of artists, film makers and musicians from Chuck Close to Lars Von Trier to Neil Young. They’re all people who create uncompromising, beautiful and exciting art. They all make you feel something, whether you like that feeling or not.”

Listen and download one of the stand out tracks on the album Ten Songs, this track is amusingly titled ‘She Looked Like A Henry Moore.’

04 - Horse Guards Parade - She Looked Like A Henry Moore by Ten Songs

The Horse Guards Parade debut album Ten Songs is released on April 11th

Bad For Lazarus EP 25 Cover

Consisting of ex members of The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster, UNKLE and NIN the Brighton five piece Bad For Lazarus will release a lo-fi EP displaying their softer ‘minimalistic’ nature, a challenge that the band set themselves before unleashing the full hardcore of their full album later in the year.

Frontman Rich Fownes says; “The challenge was to write something in a minimalist, softer style that isn’t completely horrible, I don’t think there’s anything worse than when a good rock artist ‘gets sensitive’ and trades their wit and style for introspection and general wussyness. Once we took on the challenge for nothing more than fun, and our guards were down, we were quite amazed with our own results.”

Indeed, ‘25’, sacrifices none of the band’s signature swagger, yet converts the shouting and feedback (well, most of it) into soulful doo-wop through a fuzzy rock ‘n’ roll lens. Reflecting on the EP, Fownes picks out some personal highlights;

“There are many special moments; from the barber shop breakdown in ‘25” to the ’shooby-doo-wahs’ of ‘Cozy’; where we had come many steps closer towards realizing our original intention of mixing Motown, light-hearted humour and rock ‘n roll sensibilities. It seemed ideal, and delightfully backwards to release these songs as a collection of their own, before the initial album statement had even been made.”

The EP 25 features five excellent tracks that retain the Bad For Lazarus scuzzy rock credentials while showing a quieter more melodic garage rock style that will surely endear them to a wider audience.

Here is the brand new video to accompany the second track on the EP, the wonderful Tom Waits-esque Jon vs Apocalypse:

Bad For Lazarus have built a reputation through heavy touring and 2011 will see more of the same with UK dates in March, April and May already announced:

March
24th – Leicester, Lock 42
25th – Brighton, The Hope

April
5th – London, The Macbeth
7th – Birmingham, The Rainbow
8th – Crewe, The Box
11th – Norwich, The Project
12th – York, The Stereo
16th – Glasgow, Bloc
17th – Edinburgh – The Banshee Labyrinth
18th – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club

May
4th – London, Notting Hill Arts Club

Mother Mother - Eureka

Canadian band Mother Mother are set to release their third studio album Eureka on May 9th, with the single The Stand/Simply Simple being available from April 4th.

Eureka promises to be the band’s most tenacious and undaunted record to date, offering up eccentric, hook laden pop-meets-rock songs housed in creative arrangements with clever lyrics and intricate harmonies.

Produced by Mother Mother’s own Ryan Guldemond and mixed by Mike Fraser, the 12 new tracks that comprise the album surpass their predecessors with a greater sense of cohesion, exuberance and overall sonic depth.  Guldemond, the group’s chief songwriter and front man describes the album as “a vivid depiction of where the band’s at right now, which is the height of our musicianship, song writing and strength as collaborators”.

In the signature Mother Mother animal themed vein, Eureka’s cover art portrays a techni-coloured Lion, baring its teeth.  Female vocalist / synth player, Molly Guldemond (she and Ryan are siblings), is the resident artist in charge.  “Our new songs are bolder and more animated, so I chose to use vibrant neons and brighter colours than ever before,” the multi-talented artist/musician reports.  “The word ‘eureka’ suggests epiphany and exciting discovery. The lion represents the animal instinct in us to pursue these breakthroughs; a predatory sense to hunt for deeper truth”.

Although principally an upbeat collection of songs, the dark lyrical tone, a signature element of the MM package, is alive and well in the album’s wordplay.  The Stand, Eureka’s incredibly addictive lead off single is an urban hip hop tinged tale of a “misanthrope who corrupts the minds of two young school girls” as described by Ryan, who wrote most of the song in his head as a “silly rap style thing to bide time in transit.”

Mother Mother – The Stand

Mother Mother - The Stand from Last Gang Records on Vimeo.

The album’s first track, “Chasing It Down”, laments the demise of the newness in things, while wearing the skin of an epic, Deep Purple-esque rocker, complete with a formidable organ hook.  The quintessential slow song, “Born In A Flash”, might just be the band at its most haunting and morose ever as this piano driven heavyweight marches through a versatile landscape of lush strings, choral beegees, and a killer back beat and bass line.  “Simply Simple” is just that, a perfect advocacy of the ‘less is more’ doctrine, while the dreamy “Getaway”, with Molly singing lead in her unique, gentle timbre, is the plight of an escapist.

Smile

Formed by five friends from Reading and London in 2009, Smile have featured on national radio stations XFM and BBC 6Music, winning listeners over with a session recorded for the Tom Robinson Show.

The band are a refreshing update of some of alternative rock’s true greats, referencing everyone from Afghan Whigs to Dinosaur Jr. while creating a personality entirely of their own.

Smile release their excellent debut EP ‘Closer’ on April 11th and the band are offering a free download of the title track right here:

Smile - Closer by divisionpromotions

Smile singer Chris Relevitch said:

“’The song ‘Closer’ is a break up song; it’s actually very bitter. I didn’t want to turn it into anything too crappy, so I tried to make it as direct and honest as possible, which ended up with me singing the most infantile, dumb shit. Stuff that I would probably say if I were drunk, which I was. It’s a healing process, the hurt process. ‘Nightlife’ is an ode to failed relationships and their worth in reminding us how much of a dick we can all be. Lord Lucan was a dick, he tried to kill his wife but ended up killing the nanny instead.”

Live Dates:

March 28th – London, The Windmill

April 7th – London, The Monarch

April 13th – Reading, The Oakford Social Club