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By Jon Milton Lawns ‘Be a Better Man’ is a great debut album. Rarely do you hear an album that sounds so good from the off with such a bunch of varied styles and approaches combined. It has energy and ambition that reminds me of other notable debuts from the post punk seventies and eighties: Gang of Four’s ‘Entertainment’, Joy Division’s ‘Unknown Pleasures’ and That Petrol Emotion’s ‘Manic Pop Thrill’ to name but a few.  Be a Better Man gets off to a belting start with ‘I Remember’ and the ferocious ‘Misinterpretations’. ‘Bottled Up’ and ‘Best’ settle things down, followed by the abrasive 'Interlude', before ‘Surf’ picks up the pace again. Although billed as ‘German Punks’ the songwriting here is far more cultured than the punk element suggests. Songs like ‘Eggshells’, ‘Surf’, ‘16’ and ‘Friends’ are extremely well crafted, although the band stop themselves from getting overtly technical through the all-out assault of ‘The Worrier’ and ‘You’. Overall, the ingenuity and blending of styles works a treat, with influences like early Velvet Underground and label mates TRAAMS coming in loud and clear alongside those already mentioned.
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By Jon Milton Yammerer. Remember them? The somewhat mysterious band from somewhere in the North-West last released new music back in July 2021 and haven’t been heard of since - until now that is. Being a somewhat mercurial bunch, their come-back record ‘ESZ – Erth Station Zebra’ is of course, a 45-minute psychedelic opus in 6 movements. And very good it is too - you really have to give it your full attention for the whole length of the track to appreciate it, but it’s well worth the effort. Think Can, Doors, Velvet Underground, Lee Scratch Perry and Echo and the Bunnymen on acid and you’ll be in the right ball park.  ESZ has emerged from three different recording sessions, improvised and captured live and engaged in what Damo Suzuki called ‘instant composition’. The band describe ESZ as ‘a transcendent odyssey…a journey that invites listeners to explore the mysteries of its universe in 6 movements…where the direction is a way of seeing’. Which might sound a bit overly-elaborate but makes perfect sense once you’ve given it a listen.  There’s more music on the horizon too, with the band half-way through recording their debut album. No news of any gigs as yet, but they have set up an Instagram account so give them a follow. Still no interviews though…
ESZ is released on 16th August on Docklands Speed Shop records. By Jon Milton And just like that, half the year went by. Is it just me, or is everyone still feeling a bit lethargic post pandemic? Moving swiftly on, lets concentrate on 2024's musical highlights so far. Newcomer of the year has to be Funhaus, who released their debut single 'Scene Vulture' in April. I'd seen a lot about them online, so decided to go and see them play Paper Dress Vintage in January and was mightily impressed. Scene Vulture is a great single, but they are something else live. Get along to one of their gigs and find out yourself. Another band to get excited about are Mancunians Martial Arts. Debut single Warsaw emerged in February, followed by Defector in May. Both are sharp post punk tunes that show a lot of promise from the band. I am getting bored of all these bands shouting and there's a bit of that with this lot, but there's a strong vocal in there too, flanked by some excellent songwriting. House Arrest tickled my eardrums last year with their single M.Monroe, and have just released another fine tune in SWANS. They remind me of Warmduscher in their deranged and frankly quite filthy early days. Something about them says they are not taking this band thing too seriously and are mostly out to have fun for now, which is obviously no bad thing. If shoe gaze is your bag, you may want to check out Tulpa and Laughter. The spirit of MBV is highly noticeable in both bands, although Tulpa seem closer to MBV's Ecstasy album and Laughter more aligned to Isn't Anything. Each band add something new and fresh to the mix though, and both have released some very good music this year. The Osees appear to provide the inspiration for two more rather promising emerging bands, Dreamwave and Dactyl Terra. Think 'Mutilator Defeated at Last' through to 'Face Stabber' era Osees / Thee Oh Sees rather than the pretty hit and miss stuff that's followed since. Dreamwave's 'Dreamwave and the Mindcave' six track EP came out in May with a richly eclectic selection of tracks with Mindcave a stand-out. Dactyl Terra released their debut album 'FEE FI FO FUM in June with a fine selection of garage/space rock tunes. By Jon Milton It’s been a while since I last posted a blog. There are a few things behind this, but one of the key reason’s has been a general lack of interest in new music that landed in 2023. That’s not to say that there wasn’t a lot of good music released. On the contrary, I was taken aback by the quality as I compiled my Festive Fifty for the year. I’m guessing however that post-pandemic fatigue really set in and just sapped any enthusiasm for not only anything new, but also the old. And having started the blog and followed a lot of new bands since 2019, I’ve become acutely aware that quite a few of them have stopped making good music and are more concerned with chasing their moment in the sun. Enough with the doom and gloom though! 2024 feels like it’s going to be a lot more promising… Possibly one of the biggest highlights of 2023 was the rapid emergence of English Teacher. They kicked off the year with a single on Speedy Wunderground, signed for a major, released a slew of excellent tracks and even managed an appearance on Jool’s Holland’s ‘Later’. The ‘Later’ performance of ‘World’s Biggest Paving Slab’ really was a joy to watch – the band seemed absolutely buzzing to be on the show. 2024 should see them release their debut album, and hopefully it will maintain the extremely high standard set by the singles so far. My favourite discovery of 2023 was JJUUJJUU. With Wide Awake now established as a real festival staple, I make it a point of listening to all scheduled bands and was blown away by these guys. Their 2018 ‘Zionic Mud’ is special, and they may have a second album (hopefully) on the way in 2024. The pick of their recent singles is ‘Nowhere’ but Zionic Mud is probably the best starting point. At the end of 2022 I saw Avalanche Party play a host of new material and had a chat with their bassist Joe, who suggested a new album would be out in May. The excellent ‘Serious Dance Music’ arrived without any publicity in March, and there’s been nothing since then. Hopefully the album will be on its way soon. 2023 saw Speedy Wunderground celebrate 10 years at Village Underground, which included a performance from Moreish Idols, who released a sublime second EP on the label ‘Lock Eyes and Collide’. The band toured extensively throughout the year, so hopefully another EP (or ideally an album could be on its way in the coming months. The other major highlight from the label was the debut single from Hot Face, ‘Dura Dura’. March 2024 will see Yard Act release their long awaited second album. Where some bands have either stood still or watered down their sound to try and widen their appeal, Yard Act continue to evolve and firmly set their own path. Recent single ‘Petroleum’ has more than a touch of Beck about it and its predecessor ‘Dream Job’ has an 80’s funk theme going on, so what comes next is anyone’s guess. They are clearly a clever bunch who know their market, so you’d expect them to keep that bar high. Other bands to look out for in 2024 will hopefully include:
- Eyesore and the Jinx: Their debut album comes out in February… - Workfriends: such a good band, I just want to hear more from them! - Porchlight: building on their excellent ‘Wives Tales & Hymns of the Earth’ EP - Kill, the Icon, Gaylips, Human Interest, Splint, HAAL, Midlight, Keg, Wombo, Deadletter, Cowboyy, Egyptian Blue, Last Tourist and anyone else I've missed – keep them coming! By Jon Milton There’s something deliciously gothy about ‘Glass City’, the third album from FEWS. The insistent guitar lines bathed in echo, the Steve Severin-like driving bass and the tribal drumming all combine devilishly to recall that unfairly maligned early 80’s movement. Based in Sweden but comprised of Swedes, Americans and English, FEWS first emerged in 2015, but have been quiet for the last four years since their last album ‘Into Red’. Glass City was, by all accounts borne out of experimentation with producer Joakim Lindberg. Vocalist/Guitarist Fred Runquist says of the album: ‘‘Glass City’ is the rawest thing we’ve done so far. Unlike the previous album, we tried to make it as raw and alive as it is when playing live. We didn’t want to compromise with doing so many dubs and smoothen the rough edges. It’s a really exposing feeling, especially when its so close to the edge that you can almost feel it’s about to break’.  There are shades of many of bands in their early stages on this record, early Bauhaus, The Cure, The Cult, Siouxsie, Echo and the Bunnymen and Gene Loves Jezebel. Tracks like Massolit, Adore, Get Out and In Head romp along at a glorious pace. Elsewhere Yoga Instructor, Soon and Strafe evoke the early shoegaze of Slowdive and Ride and there’s a hint of early 90’s grunge on Fled. And just Fred says, it is raw. Raw and incisive like it was their first album, not their third, and testament to a band that are at the top of their game. |
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