Jo Call That Radio: New Music Alert by Jo D’arc 16.07.21
Jo D’arc is an artist who performs with The Twistettes, Minerva Wakes and The Girobabies plus various DJ alteregos . Today she takes over YouCallThat.Com to write about some of her favourite new music of the week including Amyl & The Sniffers, Mickey 9s, Josephine Sillars, L1 & Toni Smoke, Fontaines DC vs Dave Clarke, Victor Pope Band and Cede . All artists mentioned can be found in the YCTR Recommends playlist which you can follow here : https://open.spotify.com/playlist/176xiIFR0O964I6t2IV7ba?si=cf4ff8d4524d4627
Amyl and the sniffers – Guided by Angels (single)
As you would expect, the new track from Amyl and the Sniffers is a pure banger and I'm pretty keen for the forthcoming album which is out in September. A number of different people that saw this lots when they were touring in Scotland contacted me to say I had to hear them. I full heartedly agree - yas!
Known for frenzied, wild live shows the singer Amy Taylor is spectacular. She’s like Iggy Pop when he was heading up The Stoogies – full of blistering, enigmatic energy. The relentless drive of the band encompasses this energy and projects it forward in a spray of jagged sounds and edgy riffs. This track is talking about energy and being guided by ‘angels’ and the repetitive grind of the lyric really makes me think about the drive and flow of creating and performing music and how it's something that bubbles up almost of its own accord and could even appear to come from outside you – but it's not – it's you doing it (or is it?!). I'm not sure if that’s what she’s talking about – it could as easily be talking about drugs or actual freakin angels!
I love that this band genuinely don’t seem to give a fuck. I love that they challenge the ideas about what a rock band should look like and be. I love that they seriously ‘bring it’ to every show. And I am so buzzing to see them smashing it out live sometime. So up my street this jazz is.
Fontaines DC – ‘Televised Mind (Dave Clarke Remix) ‘
Techno legend Dave Clarke has remixed one of my favorite Fontaines DC songs and I love it. Expect this in a DJ set from me imminently! This track tickles me in the exactly right spot mixing two of my big musical love affairs – punk and techno. The singer in Fontaines DC is a poet disparately punctuating relentless guitars with beautifully sparse social commentary.
Dave starts with a pounding disco-vibe that slowly gets darker and punkier as the track unfolds. Edgy crashes and clangs lead us to the introduction of the vocal where the words are given space while the production gently continues to build the tune. Some cool acidic sounds bounce around mid-way which I'm always a sucker for. I really enjoy dance music that changes and moves, keeping things interesting. My ADHD brain can’t cope with too much repetition, though sometimes the subtlest change is enough. A little acid leads the way for the rugged guitar sound injecting some rawness from the original track. It brings the vocal a new dimension when combined with the jagged over-driven strumming, as do the live drums that come pounding in toward the end of the track. In fact, by the last few bars of the tune has pretty much merged from tech to punk. So very cool.
Josephine Sillars – ‘Desperate Characters’
The latest from Josephine Sillars really takes her artistry to a new level. It’s stylistically eclectic with content thats impactful and bold. I'm loving the move to embrace more electronic beats. The tracks on this EP sound experimental yet accessible. There is something almost spoken word/rap-like about some of the vocals interspersed by moments of juxtaposition like a soaring choir or sample of someone telling a story. Moving from the clean fresh vocals in one moment to a heavily produced and layered vocal sound builds contrast that’s pretty lush.
Theres something of Kae Tempest, Katy B, Bjork and Kate Bush coming through here. Its really cool and I'm very much looking forward to what comes next.
The Victor Pope Band - ‘Smoke and Mirrors’
The latest track from Victor Pope Band is asking ALL the questions. Quite likely at least a few of these contemplation have passed through your mind at some point or other. Some topical, some political, some silly but all relevant and there is something comforting about hearing someone else ask these questions. A sense of belonging and identity is created in our identification with the questions which, is something I feel this band are particularly good at. The music is mostly upbeat, fun and danceable while lyrically it can be simple, witty and poignant all at once which is not easy to achieve.
This track is from the new album ‘The Theory of Being Nice’ which is full of great tunes that range from funny to touching to silly to astute. Check it out!
Cede is a brand-new project from the musical power-house that is Becci Wallace. Always with an intriguing lyric or expertly crafted hook Becci’s music is always a joy to listen to. This project see her collaborate with the very talented Alan Kerr and the pair dally down a folky path combining beautifully crafted guitar pieces and captivating vocal hooks.
As the voices dance between male and female they create images and tell stories as all good folk music does. The EP has an uplifting energy mixed with that necessary hint of melancholy needed to make music interesting. For me the stand out track is 'Call of the Void' with its simple melodic movements bouncing from guitar to vocals and back again. Quite captivating. The whole EP is pretty damn good though – go listen. Fantastic.
Out now on Bandcamp and Spotify
Cede play there debut live gig at Room 2 on Saturday 25th August. Get tickets here - http://room-2.co.uk/events/room-2-summer-sessions-2/
The latest album from Glasgow’s epic dance-punk-indie-electro hybrid. This album reminds me of a lot of my favourite electro producers who bridge the gap between rock and dance music. Feels of acts like ‘Daft Punk’, ‘Justice’, ‘Soulwax’, LCD Soundsystem, MGMT and ‘Hot Chip’ are strong here. Though you can still hear the indie-rock influence – in fact, some bits in this album sound more furiously punky than ever before. The production is brilliant and really enhances the drive and flow of the album. It really does sound cracking.
Having not bounced about at a sweaty live gig for toooooo long, this album is almost difficult to listen to cause it incites that feeling of wild abandonee us gig-goers have been missing. On the plus side the first Mickey 9’s gig post-lock-down might literally blow the roof of the place with this as its sound-track. I honestly can’t pick stand out tracks as I love it all. The lyrics in kids ‘your grans in the slam tent, your maws in the snake pit, your da’s in the polis van’ are freakin brilliant. The nod to Ol dirty bastard is cool in ‘Raw’ as is the chant ‘turn up the bass I like it’ as the bass rips up the track. The edgy techno sounds juxtaposed with Pixies like guitar in ‘Black Hole Soul’ is excellent. I could go on and on cause its just really good but I'll not. Go play this loud. Close your eyes. Dance. Dance. Dance.
Check it out on Spotify here
And check out the exclusive interview that the boys did on You Call That Radio TV here
L1 & Toni Smoke- ‘I Swear I`m Not Crazy’
L1 is an Australian rapper based in Melbourne and today she launches her long awaited debut album with Scottish producer Toni Smoke. And it’s a banger.
Thoughtful lyrically, the album is seeped in self reflection. It talks about politics, relationship, self improvement, partying and other relatable topics. Her flow is on form.
The production is beautifully done managing to sound pretty diverse while maintaining continuity within the album which isn't always easy to achieve. Lots of piano loops and nice samples alongside some edgy bass make it a pretty cool sounding record.
Check out the album on Spotify or buy it on Bandcamp
L1 and Toni Smoke also joined us on You Call That Radio TV to chat about the process of making an album over lockdown from the other side of the planet as each other here:
YouCallThat.com is a blog, a podcast and an internet TV show that also specialises in live events . We do it all with no funding, sponsors or adverts and are powered purely by our patreons so if you want to help us create more content then please consider donating the price of a pint or a coffee over here http://patreon.com/youcallthatradio
