The Fiery Furnaces - I'm Going Away [2009]

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Restless sonic chameleons the Fiery Furnaces revolve around the brother and sister duo of Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger, whose prickly childhood relationship and musical family set the stage for their playful, unpredictable music. The Friedbergers' grandmother was a musician and choir director at a Greek Orthodox church near the family's home in Oak Park, IL; their mother, who had a penchant for Gilbert & Sullivan, played piano and guitar and sang; and throughout school, Matthew played standup bass. While the Friedbergers weren't the closest of siblings growing up, after college and separate trips abroad they returned to Oak Park and began working on music together. The pair mixed simple, poppy melodies with a dizzying array of wordplay, sounds, and influences, including the Who, Captain Beefheart, Os Mutantes; dashes of folk, blues, and garage rock; and Eleanor's adventures in Europe. In 2000, they moved to Brooklyn, took day jobs, and began playing as the Fiery Furnaces late in the year.

The Furnaces played their initial gigs at a small club called Enid's and branched out from there, going through several lineups of supporting musicians as they played gigs with the French Kicks, Sleater-Kinney, and Spoon. In 2002, they began working on their first album. By the time they signed to Rough Trade on the basis of their demo, their debut, Gallowsbird's Bark, was completed and the Fiery Furnaces were already at work on the follow-up. Gallowsbird's Bark arrived in fall 2003 and won critical acclaim for its charming kitchen-sink feel, but the band gained more momentum the following year, when praise for the debut album dovetailed with the release of the group's even more diverse and challenging sophomore album, Blueberry Boat, that summer.

The Fiery Furnaces spent much of 2004 touring with Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, Franz Ferdinand, and the Shins, but were already working on their third and fourth albums. Early in 2005, the Furnaces released the simply titled EP, a mini-album gathering most of their B-sides along with a few new songs. That fall, the band returned with Rehearsing My Choir, a challenging stream-of-consciousness album featuring the Friedbergers' grandmother, Olga Sarantos. They moved to Fat Possum for Bitter Tea, a collection of poppier songs that arrived in spring 2006. The following year, the Fiery Furnaces switched to Thrill Jockey and spent the summer and fall touring in anticipation of the '70s rock-influenced Widow City, which was released in October 2007 and was mixed by Tortoise's John McEntire. Remember, a sprawling live album that spliced different versions of the same songs together into collage-like tracks, followed in 2008.

The Anomalies - Free Soup Social [2009]

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This was not was I expected! It seems previous single Kid Riot was a bit of a curveball as, on Free Soup Social, I was expecting a full on British Beastie-Boys. What weve actually got is Franz Ferdinand gone hip-hop with healthy doses of Jurassic 5-style interludes for good measure. 1830 and Creatures Of Habit for the greater part musically could have easily been outakes from Franz Ferdinands second album if it wasnt for the raps and scratches. Meanwhile, Kid Riot remains a musical joy, bike bells and all, but in the context of the album it sounds very much as if this is the bands Darts of Pleasure - the catchy single that doesnt really define the band as a whole, and who are, to coin a phrase, so much better.

Check out current single, and outstanding track, Old Skool for a good idea of where the band really are. The hip-hop beats are complimentary rather than drivers to their sound. The danger in the past of the hip-hop / indie-pop crossover attempts have been the unsuccessful marriage of two different genres but that doesnt really occur anywhere on the album. However, Jacobs Ladder hints at an assured future in the band - its hip-hop in this track as in most tracks, but again it doesnt feel out of place in the slow moving lament.

A lot of careful thought has gone on to make neither part bigger than the other. With reports of their live act being worth checking, its certainly not a reputation thats been let down by the album and Im sincerely hoping that Ill get the chance to check them out in the near future - a rare thing on the basis of listening to a debut album.

NimB - NimB [2009]

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NimB is a band from Kiev, Ukraine that combines elements of electronic trip-hop, post-rock, dub and other styles to create atmospheric music. The band members are Lena Sas (vocals), Andrey “Zhorick” Zhmurko (guitar, programming), Max Zhukov (sampler, keyboards, bass) and Eugene “fuckethead” Makhno (guitar, effects). They have been playing together since 2002. There are rumors about their debut album release before the end of 2008, but nothing has been confirmed so far.

The Poison Arrows - First Class, And Forever [2009]

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After two CDEP's, Chicago's The Poison Arrows return with their long-awaited debut album First Class, and Forever. Guitarist, keyboardist, and vocalist Justin Sinkovich (ex Atombombpocketknife) first released a solo EP entitled Trailer Park as The Poison Arrows in 2004 on File Thirteen. He, drummer Adam Reach, and bassist Patrick Morris (ex Don Caballero) then began playing together. While completing the overdubbing, editing, and mixing of their first EP Straight Into The Drift in their studio The Plaza, The Poison Arrows began to write songs together as a band. After a year had passed, far more than an album's worth of music materialized.

The Poison Arrows then went into Steve Albini's Electrical Audio Studio A with staff engineer and long- time friend Greg Norman to record the basic tracks for over a dozen songs. After completing the basic tracks at Electrical, all of the overdubs were recorded at The Plaza. As the band continued to finish mixes for First Class, and Forever, the second EP Casual Wave was completed from the same sessions.

Wilco - Wilco (The Album) [2009]

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Wilco is an American rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John Stirratt remaining from the original incarnation. The other current members are guitarist Nels Cline, multi-instrumentalists Pat Sansone and Mikael Jorgensen, and drummer Glenn Kotche. Wilco has released six studio albums, a live double album, and three collaborations: two with Billy Bragg, and one with The Minus 5.

Wilco's music has been inspired by a wide variety of artists and styles, including Bill Fay and Television, and has in turn influenced music by a number of modern alternative rock acts. The band continued in the alternative country of Uncle Tupelo on its debut album A.M. (1995), but has since introduced more experimental aspects to their music, including elements of alternative rock, and classic pop.

Wilco garnered media attention for its fourth album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002), and the controversy surrounding it. After the recording sessions were complete, Reprise Records rejected the album and dismissed Wilco from the label. As part of a buy-out deal, Reprise gave Wilco the rights to the album for free. After streaming Foxtrot on its website, Wilco sold the album to Nonesuch Records in 2002. Both record labels are subsidiaries of Warner Music Group, leading one critic to say that the album showed "how screwed up the music business [was] in the early twenty-first century." Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is Wilco's most successful release to date, selling over 590,000 copies. Wilco won two Grammy Awards for their fifth studio album, 2004's A Ghost Is Born, including Best Alternative Music Album. Wilco is set to release their seventh studio album Wilco (The Album) on June 30th, 2009.

Green Concorde - Down The Corridor To The Exit Through The Gates Out Into Safety [2009]

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As the title of their new full length recording suggests, Green Concorde is moving; and moving fast. The direction is one and one only: Out!

Be it from the dark star palm trees of Miami, from the silvercoated buildings in the City of Glass or from the claustrophobic humidity of their now abandoned rehearsal room in Copenhagen, this outfit is running for safety. Out where the stars look like arrows on fire.

As they move, Green Concorde stays true to their pulsating post-punk brand, though some of the sounds characteristic noise has been distilled and filtered, leaving a more soft and atmospheric expression than the one characterizing their previous album, Ten Cities.

And unlike Ten Cities, this album is not a result of hours spent in a cold rehearsal room in a humid basement. Instead the nine songs were written under intimate and private forms; partly in the bandmembers own appartments in Copenhagen, partly in a small cottage in the dark outskirts of Denmark.

The run has begun. Are you ready to follow Green Concorde down the corridor, to the exit, through the gates, out into safety?

Thanks Parkin!!

The Breeders - Fate To Fatal EP [2009]

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The Breeders are an American alternative rock band formed in 1988 by Kim Deal of the Pixies and Throwing Muses' Tanya Donelly. The band has experienced a number of line-up changes; the current line-up consists of Kim Deal (lead vocals and guitar), her twin sister Kelley Deal (guitar and backing vocals), Jose Medeles (drums and percussion), Mando Lopez (bass guitar) and Cheryl Lyndsey (guitar); Kim Deal has been the band's sole continual member. Their first album, Pod (1990), received critical acclaim but was not commercially successful. The Breeders' most successful album, 1993's Last Splash, produced the hit single "Cannonball". The band's fourth album, Mountain Battles, was released in 2008.

80Kidz - This Is My Shit [2009]

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80kidz emerged from the borderless youth culture of Japan.
However, their music makes it seem that it may not even matter that they are actually from Japan. They’ve already performed with the likes of Justice, Busy P, Boys Noize, Teenage Bad Girl, Hot Chip, and Bobmo. And, Isn’t it more interesting to be witness to where their music is going to take you and where they are already going with their music?

They began their activities making music as a three-piece DJ unit in early 2007 when releasing their own limited bootleg mix CD “The KidzAre Alnight No. 1” in February of 2007. This mix sold-out rapidly and requests for DJ appearances quickly followed.
“The Kidz Are Alnight No.2” continued things further forward for them. By the time they announce their unofficial remixes on their Myspace website in the Summer various music blog websites such as Kidz By Colette begin to pick up on them and these remixes and their music begins to get blogged, discussed, and circulate around the world. This attention builds even further with their posting an original track “Disdrive” which followed in the form of official remix requests pouring in from the Shoes, Quiero Club, When Saints Go Machine, The Glammers, and Futurecop. Even their remix of Yelle that they did for fun featured seventh place in the “Ce Jeu” remix contest on her blog website.

The Fiery Furnaces - Gallowsbird's bark [2003]

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The Fiery Furnaces are a U.S. indie rock band formed in Brooklyn, New York, in 2000. They played twice in Brooklyn as The Suckers before performing as The Fiery Furnaces (with an unchanged line-up). The band's primary members are Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger. The brother and sister are originally from Oak Park, Illinois, a near-western suburb of Chicago.

Clara Luzia - The Ground Below [2009]

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Clara Luzia was brought to life in november 2005, and has been fostered and raised ever since.

Clara Luzia's story started back in 2005 when singer/songwriter clara was looking for a new musical collaborator who was soon to be found in producer alexander nefzger. they started working on clara's material, and soon understood that they need a backing band to realize their musical ambitions. clara and nefzger invited friends to play with them and soon had a quartet: Clara (voc, guit), Nefzger (keys), Mika Vember (cajon, backing vocals), and Heidi Dokalik (cello).

They released the first album "railroad tracks" on claras newly found label asinella records in april 2006. Soon more friends joined in: Manfred Fau (bass, banjo), and Ines Perschy (drums). Their widely acclaimed second album "The Long Memory" (2007) earned them invitations to eurosonic festival, and Glitterhouse's Blossom Orange Festival in 2008, as well as Austria's Music Award Amadeus as "FM4 Alternative Act of The Year 2008. The new cd "the ground below" will be released in Austria on april 17th 2009 (Asinella Records), releases in Germany and Switzerland to follow soon. For detailed information please visit their website.

The Banshee - Your Nice Habits [2009]

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The very eagerly awaited second album from `The Banshee` is available online / postage from early last week and of course regular readers will be familiar with these Italian electro indie/rock pioneers. `Your Nice Habits` instantly becomes a complete package, ingenious catchy basslines, retro keyboards and a fabulous New-Wave vocal style finds almost everyone listening for more. A track below (not on the album), which easily makes my top cover version of the year is the XTC classic `Making Plans For Nigel`.. A very nice habit to have.

Starfucker - Jupiter (Promo) [2009]

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Just over eight months after the release of their well-received self-titled debut, electro-pop upstarts Starfucker are putting out another album to coincide with the onset of the universal summertime adrenaline rush. The record is entitled Jupiter and is considered by the group to be a sister LP to their debut, bringing to light a smattering of songs that have already gone into heavy rotation in Starfucker’s live performances. Jupiter is scheduled to be released on May 5 on Badman.

Judging from the opening track “Medicine,” which can now be streamed at the band’s MySpace page, the Portland-based quartet seem steadfast in continuing their allegiance to synth bliss and distorted hooks, which is a noble venture if there ever was one. Prior to the release of Jupiter, Starfucker will be playing a host of shows at SXSW this year, having made Prefix’s list of Artists to Watch at SXSW 2009, and will continue to tour the rest of North America through the beginning of May.

Yo La Tengo - Electr-O-Pura [1995]

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Yo La Tengo is an American indie rock band based in Hoboken, New Jersey. With more than 15 albums released since their formation in 1984, they have demonstrated unusual longevity for the indie-rock scene. They are frequently regarded as one of the definitive indie rock groups of the 1990s. Though Yo La Tengo has achieved limited mainstream success, the band has become a critical favorite with a devoted fan base.

Too Soft - Breakfast Songs [2009]

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"Breakfast Songs, first album too soft drink niche songwriting craft of a vial in a more sophisticated to" Eskimo "to" Sexy Plastic Girl ", the formats are now decorated with brass in shambles, the chorus alongside care arrangements, all directed by Tahiti Boy with a natural moments recalls the early works of Turin Brakes. "

Note to self
This output is a mini-album a real album. There is in fact only 7 titles for a period of 22 minutes.

But those few minutes suggest a good dose of talent through these titles pop / folk melodies with effective ... even if the English accent is still working.

Galaxie 500 - This Is Our Music [1990]

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Galaxie 500 was an American indie rock trio that formed in 1987 and split up in 1991 after releasing three albums.

Guitarist Dean Wareham, drummer Damon Krukowski and bassist Naomi Yang had met at the Dalton School in New York City in 1981, but began playing together during their time as students at Harvard University. Wareham and Krukowski had formed a series of punk-influenced student bands, before Wareham returned to New York. When he returned in 1987 he and Krukowski formed a new band, with Yang joining the group on bass guitar, the new group deciding on the name Galaxie 500, after a friend's car (a Ford car of the 1960s, the Ford Galaxie 500). In their early years, Krukowski didn't own a drum kit, so he borrowed one from his Harvard classmate Conan O'Brien, who'd bought a kit but had recently given up playing it. This drum kit can be heard on many of Galaxie 500's early recordings.

The band began playing gigs in Boston and New York, and recorded a demo which they sent to Shimmy Disc label boss and producer Mark Kramer, who agreed to produce the band. With Kramer at the controls, the band recorded the "Tugboat" single in February 1988, and the "Oblivious" flexi-disc, and moved on to record their debut album, Today, which was released on the small Aurora label. The band toured the United Kingdon in late 1988 and in 1989, they signed to Rough Trade, and released their second album, On Fire, which has been described as "lo-fi psychedelia reminiscent of Jonathan Richman being backed by The Velvet Underground", and is considered the band's defining moment. On Fire reached number 7 in the UK Indie Chart, and met with much critical acclaim in the United Kingdom, but was less well-received by the US music press, who cited Wareham's 'vocal limitations' as a weakness.

With Kramer's live sound production at the mixing board at the band's every gig, the sound and the increasingly loyal audience grew with each release.
Galaxie 500 recorded two sessions for John Peel's BBC Radio 1 programme, these later released on the Peel Sessions album. Their cover of Jonathan Richman's "Don't Let Our Youth Go To Waste" was also voted into number 41 in 1989's Festive 50 by listeners to the show.

The band split up in the spring of 1991 after a third album, This Is Our Music, Wareham, who had already moved back to New York, quitting the band after a lengthy American tour.
Galaxie 500's records were released in the US and UK on the independent Rough Trade label. When Rough Trade went bankrupt in 1991, Krukowski and Yang purchased the masters at auction, reissuing them on Rykodisc in 1997.

Micachu and the Shapes - Jewellery [2009]

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Micachu was born Mica Levi in Surrey in 1987 before relocating to Bow, East London. The daughter of musicians, she started writing and playing music at the age of four. She studied violin, viola and composition at the Purcell School before being offered a scholarship to attend the Guildhall School of Music and Drama to study composition. She was also commissioned to write an orchestral piece for the London Philharmonic Orchestra which was performed at the Royal Festival Hall on April 29th.

She performed as a DJ and MC around the UK garage and grime scene in London, and released a mixtape titled Filthy Friends, free on her Myspace page. It consists of friends and musicians of various backgrounds including MCs Man Like Me & Ghostpoet, singer-songwriter Jack Peñate, jazz band Troyka, London pop-band Golden Silvers, producers Kwes and Toddla T. Filthy Friends has become much sought after on the London club scene.

She formed a band called The Shapes, to perform her own brand of pop music, and signed to Accidental Records. On May 26, 2008 she released her debut single "Lone Ranger," followed by "Golden Phone" in August of 2008.

Micachu has toured widely throughout the UK in 2008, including performances at the Bestival and V Festival and her music has received critical acclaim in several national publications, including The Guardian, Dazed & Confused and Time Out. She has also played abroad, in South Africa and at CMJ shows in New York City.

In 2009, advance copies of her first album, Jewellery, began to reach the press, generating positive reviews. Fact Magazine predicted "it will be one of the records of the year, guaranteed." In the wake of positive buzz, Mica was signed to Rough Trade Records, and the release of Jewellery was moved from February 2 to March 9.

Micachu describes the music she performs with The Shapes as pop, but the term may be misleading, as her music veers away from much of pop's defining characteristics, including obvious choruses and accessible lyrics, and often makes use of unconventional playing styles and use of noise like bottles breaking or a vacuum cleaner.

Micachu uses unorthodox instruments which are sometimes customised or even homemade instruments. These included a modified guitar played with a hammer action, called a 'chu' and a bowed instrument fashioned from a CD rack. Another instrument has an additional third bridge right next to the sound hole which shortens the scale length leading to an alternate microtonal division of the fret intervals.

The mixtape is available as a FREE DOWNLOAD from www.myspace.com/micayomusic

IAMX - Kingdom Of Welcome Addiction [2009]

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IAMX (also referred to incorrectly on some websites as "I AM X") is the solo musical project of Chris Corner. Corner has repeatedly said that IAMX is very different from his actual, real-life personality and is a kind of quasi "act". Whether an act or not, IAMX's music is primarily concerned with subjects such as outlandish sex, death, narcotic intoxication, bisexuality, unicorn sex, decadence, obsession, alienation and vague allusions to politics. Corner currently lives in Berlin where he has found "the spirit to care less about the music industry and take an independent route."

Consisting of highly dark, erotic, 1980s-influenced electro, the debut album, Kiss + Swallow, was released in 2004.
IAMX's second album, The Alternative was released in April 2006 in Europe, October 2007 (digitally) and November 2007 (physically) in the UK and Ireland, and May 2008 on Metropolis Records in the US.

On June 17, 2008 Kiss + Swallow was re-released in the US. The album included the previously unreleased track "I-Polaroids" and a remix of "Kiss and Swallow". This release also carries an alternate cover.

A live album, Live In Warsaw, was released on November 14, 2008.

Chris Corner is currently working on the third IAMX album, Kingdom of Welcome Addiction, which will be released on May 19, 2009. (Although mp3s of the tracks were leaked on April 5). A new track entitled "Think of England" was made available for free download on November 7, 2008. Chris Corner said that Kingdom Of Welcome Addiction could be "like Disney world but with lipstick, cynicism and wit"

Kid Congo and The Pink Monkey Birds - Dracula Boots [2009]

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Powers is a second generation Mexican American born and raised in El Monte, California. In 1976, he was president of The Ramones fan club, then ran a fanzine for The Screamers. After traveling to London and New York City he returned to L.A. and in 1979 met Jeffrey Lee Pierce. Pierce taught him to play guitar using open tuning, and they formed 'The Creeping Ritual', which became The Gun Club. Powers left that group before their recording debut, instead joining New York-based band The Cramps in December 1980, who dubbed him 'Kid Congo Powers'. He rejoined the Gun Club from 1983-1988, when he again left to join Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in Berlin, for several albums and associated tours. Powers has also played with The Divine Horsemen, The Angels of Light, and Die Haut.

Most recently, Powers has collaborated with New York City guitarist Jack Martin on projects like The Pink Monkey Birds, Congo Norvell, and Knoxville Girls.

On his new album, DRACULA BOOTS, out March 2009 on INTHERED Records, the legendary Kid Congo Powers returns to the psychedelic jungle with a stripped down, no frills set of volcanic songs. Kid, the premier voodoo guitarist for seminal sexy swampy bands like Gun Club, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds and The Cramps is a restless aesthete. He used his earlier solo efforts to explore vocals and mix genres. With DRACULA BOOTS, Kid comes back to his roots as a crackerjack guitarist playing the primitive music that inspired him; the raw sounds of garage and early Chicano rock. It only made sense to record such glittering gems as Thee Midniters "I Found A Peanut" and Bo Diddley's "Funky Fly" in a high school gymnasium. He did this in a Midwest town called Harveyville with his nefarious Pink Monkey Birds. Bassist Kiki Solis from El Paso,TX. and Drummer Ron Miller from Macon,Ga. provided the southern soul sauce needed to fuel the engine of the rhythm train. Recording on a stage using the old PA system created a natural reverb, summoning the magic of a bygone prom interrupted by a juvenile delinquent rumble. The original songs on DRACULA BOOTS go from loud, fuzzy biker rock (Hitchhiking) to a greasy rump shaker groove (Bobo Boogie), from a scary movie soundtrack (La Llarona) to The Meters having an acid flashback (Black Santa). So sink your teeth into this hunk of wax and waste no time strapping on your DRACULA BOOTS. You will dance your way from the cradle to the grave, and beyond.

A Cuckoo - Destination Unknown [2008]

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A Cuckoo resides in the misty moors of Yorkshire where he creates a dusty and nostalgic blend of acoustic based esoteric poetry. Songs of love and light weave in and out of musical paintings that are delicately filled with the auburn colours of strings, the oak texture of acoustic guitars, the glistening silvers of bells, music boxes and glockenspiels, the vermilion sound of melotrons and vibraphones and the gentle breeze that is A Cuckoos voice.

The sound can been described as the reminiscent echoes of a dusty past. An enchanting and whimsical blend of curious memorabilia with elements of Edwardian and Victorian instrumentation and a large dose of waltz-time. The result is a delicate, peculiar and sometimes dark journey through the vast corridors of an artist’s imagination. Destination Unknown is a place one should take the time out to spend 45 minutes on a Sunday afternoon and experience the journey!

Magic Magic - Magic Magic [2009]

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Magic Magic are a 5 piece band with two drummers that hail from boston massachusetts and are still too young to have a legal drink in their home state.

This is their debut album. led by singer / songwriter / guitarist / keyboardist and all round genius, John Francis Murphy, the band also comprises the mercurial talents of Brendan Hughes on guitar, Dimitri Miro Swan on bass, and the infamous Dylan Gough and Mike Hlady (the doctor) playing the twin drum kit.

This is a sweeping epic of beautifully crafted and intricately arranged pop music. big, bold and beautiful it sounds as though it was recorded in technicolour widescreen panavision.

Featuring exquisite melodies and beautifully arranged harmonies that brian wilson would kill for and underpinned by the fervent manic dual attack of two drummers in perfect offbeat sync.

A band totally unafraid to assimilate different styles and managing to make it sound sublime and effortless. they have been likened to the bastard child of arcade fire, the flaming lips and radiohead.