The Maccabees – William Powers.mp3
[See post to listen to audio]

The Libertines – Never Never.mp3
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Girls – Laura.mp3
[See post to listen to audio]

Phoenix – 1901.mp3
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Arcade Fire – Keep The Car Running.mp3
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Local Natives – World News.mp3
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Villagers – Becoming A Jackal.mp3
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Goldheart Assembly – King Of Rome.mp3
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Foals – Total Life Forever
[See post to listen to audio]

I Blame Coco – Caesar.mp3
[See post to listen to audio]

A few others you might not want to miss: Mystery Jets, Queens of the Stone Age, We are Scientists, Wild Beasts, Blood Red Shoes, Surfer Blood, Two Door Cinema Club, Chapel Club, The Crookes, Gaggle, Summer Camp, Klaxons, LCD Soundsystem.
Full line up here.

Previous single ‘Suffragette Suffragette‘ is most definitely a standout track, with its elaborate harmonies and dream-like vocal shining through. ‘QWERTY Finger’, with its frenetic delivery, equally jagged guitars, and wonderfully weird lyrics is the pinnacle of the album, and is probably my track of the year so far, whilst current single ‘My Kz, Ur Bf’ blends influences as diverse as afro-pop and 80’s synth-pop together to create something unlike anything you’ve ever heard.

Ultimately, it’s not the songs themselves that let down the album, but the pacing and structure, with all the energy and static rhythms diminishing in the the closing tracks creating a “come down effect” that left me slightly disappointed. That being said, Man Alive is a truly compelling album and one that should cement Everything Everything as one of the most exciting bands in Britain today.

8/10 Amazon: Everything Everything – Man Alive pre-order

Now, I know very little about Dog Is Dead suffice to say there are five of them (Joss Van Wilder, Robert Milton, Lawrence Libor, Paul Roberts and Trev according to myspace). They played at Glastonbury this year and are playing shows across the country in the next few months.

This is the video for their forthcoming single Young, which is out on Your Childhood Records on September 20th. The password is ‘boggle’.

myspace.com/dogisdeadband

Forget ‘Bieber Fever’, Foals is the kind of fever everyone is catching. After the much anticipated release of ‘Total Life Forever’ in May, their popularity has been spreading like a rash. Why? It’s simple really. It’s honest, gritty, infectious (okay, enough with the puns) alternative rock. But their live shows are on a whole other level. I was treated to something worth remembering and loving for a life time.

Heading down to the Hi Fi Bar on the 27th of July, you could feel the excitement in the air. The show had sold out within a matter of minutes, resulting in a second show to be added – on the previous night, and everyone was keen to get a good spot. After missing the support, Gypsy and The Cat, we waited eagerly. As Foals ran onto stage, the crowd was already going wild. That first chord of ‘Total Life Forever’ sent everyone into uproar and we all realised we were in for something spectacular. ‘Cassius’ and ‘Olympic Airways’ soon followed, as well as crowd favourite ‘Spanish Sahara’. Which saw the audience pulling out lighters and swaying with the beautiful melody. The combination of Antidotes and Total Life Forever was perfect and enough to please all fans.

As the show progressed, it only got better. The chanting got louder, the dancing harder and the tracks dirtier. Highlight of the night soon came towards the end of the main set with ‘Electric Bloom’. Seeing Yannis bang the absolute crap out of that drum and watching Jack and Jimmy go mental whilst Edwin and Walter do their own thing was amazing. The amount of energy that came from it was phenomenal and made the entire evening what it was.

After an excruciatingly long break between the main set and encore, they came out to treat us with ‘The French Open’. It was so fantastic to hear an entire room full of people screaming out “Un peu, d’air sure la terre”. Yannis then announced they had one more song, it was a toss up between ‘Red Sock Pugie’ and ‘Two Steps, Twice’… We were treated to both. Initially starting with ‘Red Sock Pugie’, Yannis ran throughout the venue (with his guitar still strapped to him) as the rest of the band segway into ‘Two Steps, Twice’. Leaving everyone happy and dripping wet.

Their stage presence is a force to be reckoned with and after meeting with Foals at the end of the gig (and having a fangirl moment and grabbing a snap shot), it was so great to see they were also really down to earth guys who genuinely loved what they were doing and put 100% into it all.

Gig of the year? It’s too soon to tell. But take my word, never pass the opportunity on seeing Foals as they are one of the best live bands out.

[Thanks to flickr user M1K3Y for the image]

I have an emotional connection with Arcade Fire that stretches back to a dark time in 2005 when the band released their debut LP, Funeral.

At the time I was dealing with the loss of my Nan after her decade long battle with cancer. I was trying to deal separately with the sadness of losing her, being there for my mum & her widowed father, and the profound regret I felt for the way I treated my uncle in the days that led to his mothers funeral.

In a state close to depression I surmised that listening to an album whose name was born from the loss of relatives during its creation might not help my own situation.

Some time passed and I discovered the album was surprisingly uplifting and it found its way into my regular listening circuit.

I fell instantly in love with Neon Bible. This was a fantastic follow up album and evoked a sense of maturity. It’s massive sound seemed to yearn for a stadium to fill so the band toured with it and took in 122 shows including the Glastonbury Festival. After extensively touring the band jumped on Obama’s bandwagon and played several shows to support his presidential campaign.

The Suburbs has found it’s way online this weekend one week before its official release on August 2nd (UK). It’s produced again by Markus Dravs so it’s similar to Neon Bible but at 16 tracks long it’s a monster. It’s more first days of autumn than anything else in terms of overall sound but mixed in with the relaxed feel are random moments of energetic strings and high gloss piano.

Stand out tracks for me are the fast paced Month Of May; Empty Room with it’s orchestral opening and Suburban War.

After hearing snippets of their debut EP’s I thought they were a good band, but that there was nothing particularly ground breaking about them. But then came their debut LP, “I Had The Blues But Shook Them Loose” that, although may not have been quite as good as “Whatever People Say I Am…” was certainly up there with the best albums I had heard for a long time…

Following this, I was again sceptical when the band announced that their long awaited follow up, would be a purely acoustic album featuring cover songs interspersed with new material. My initial reaction was one of if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. How wrong I was…

Their confidence in their musical ability is so high that they left the mature, loud/ quiet sound that made their name behind in favour of more folk tinged balladry that is quite simply a joy to listen to. Ivy and Gold, Swansea (a cover of Joanna Newsom) and Many Ways are all highlights of this wonderful album full of great songs…

The only problem I have with Flaws is that it features a cover of older single Dust On The Ground, and whilst this is a brilliantly chilling cover, it says the band haven’t quite progressed from their previous album as well as I thought… whether this is in fact a bad thing is down to personal preference, but I thought it put a slight dampener on an otherwise beautiful and truly breathtaking album…

I can’t wait to hear their new RATM inspired rap-metal album in 2011…

9/10

On our journey back to Kent we were either whistling the quirky violin from Get Older or humming the bass line from See My Evil. Two definite singles anyhow.

The band have been hand picked by talent aficionado Huw Stephens to play the Lake Stage at this weekends Latitude weekender. Tickets have sold out but some are available through official resale channels.

Tom Williams & The Boat finished their album earlier in the year but will be heading back into the studio with additional new material. They are planning an EP release later this year followed by the album pencilled in for early  2011.

www.tomwilliamsandtheboat.co.uk

Two Wounded Birds – My Lonesome.mp3 Myspace
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Wild Beasts – Hooting and Howling.mp3 Myspace
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I Am Kloot – Northern Skies.mp3 Myspace
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Onlookers – Tender Hooks.mp3 Myspace
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Laura Marling – Darkness Descends.mp3 Myspace
[See post to listen to audio]
Mumford & Sons, Laura Marling & Dharohar Project – Devil’s Spoke.mp3 Buy the EP

After only receiving their latest album ‘Two Dancers’ last week, I found myself completely blown away by the night’s opening act Wild Beasts. Playing songs from both their albums, the band were on top form and proved they were strong contenders for this years Mercury Music Prize Shortlist.

There’s nothing really rock n roll about these iTunes gigs; following a three minute countdown the band took to the stage dead on time (and not a second later).
The XX go straight into album opener ‘Intro’, followed by their latest single ‘Crystalised’. This gig seems somewhat of an odd one for The XX to perform at however the sound created within The Roundhouse tonight is enough to make anyone forget about the corporate and commercial crap behind it.
The band continue to play every track from their debut album ‘XX’ including a cover of ‘Do You Mind’ originally by Kyla and closing the set with ‘Stars’.

Despite the huge commercialisation of these gigs, both bands show they’re able to capture a willing audience’s interests for an evening and leave a lasting impression of just what great live music is.

[Photo by flickr user Erik Mörner]

Since the line-up was revealed, Summer Camp was the new band that I was most looking forward to seeing.  Alas, if you combine skinny jeans, testicles and a hot hot summer then you are asking for trouble. Perhaps that’s why half of the band were so static. Aside from this, Elizabeth Sankey steals the show with her endearing vocal and leopard print play suit while Jeremy Warmsley adds his own unique surf guitar and electronic noise. I thought initially they weren’t particularly good but on reflection they have really captured the sound of summer. They’re circled on my list for Reading in August.

First Aid Kit are up next and I’m initially sceptical how their alluring album would translate on a warm sticky July afternoon. They are essentially Klara & Johanna Söderberg – Swedish sisters who, in their own words, sound like “what Gary Numan would sound like if he made folk music”. While I can’t hear the link myself I suspect that if the girls added more synth, eye liner and pouted more they’d be a bit closer to their own analogy. As they settle in to their set they get a massively positive response from the crowd and they clearly thrive from it.

Another band who are all about the crowd before them are Lulu & The Lampshades. We showcased the innovative video for their song You’re Gonna Miss Me back in October 09′ and since then they’ve become an internet hit with that very video notching up more than 350,000 hits on YouTube. I was disappointed to see only their last two songs but I found their dancing lamps (ladies in play suits with lampshades and light bulbs on their heads) and their sweet vocal the most endearing moment of the day.

I’m not sure what to make of Slow Club after their musically forgettable set yesterday. I love their album but what it, and the live bonus cd, fails to capture is Becky’s quirky attitude towards her fans. While she did seem uninterested by the occasion I think her and band mate Charlie were on top form.

After this we walked round to the main stage to see Frankie & The Heartstrings. As the Sunderland five piece walk out to an empty Cow Shed, singer Frankie Francis hails in his Northern tones “there’s a band coming on, come down the front”. The fans soon pack in and Frankie delivers an energetic set. Another one for Reading then it seems.

The only negative thing I came across yesterday was the man who failed to realise that if you don’t lean in to a urinal people will be able to see it all: balls, bush & banana (more alliteration than comment on size). Maybe these can be screened off next year – it’s a family festival afterall!

Day tickets are still available and can be purchased at the gate for £40 – see www.loungeonthefarm.co.uk for more.