17 SECONDS

MGMT will release their second album, Congratulations on April 12. It’s the follow-up to their 2008 album Oracular Spectacular and features them collaborating with both Sonic Boom and Jennifer Herrema. Sonic Boom produced the album and Dave Fridmann mixed it. This bodes extremely well.

The album’s nine tracks are: “It’s Working,” “Song for Dan Treacy,” “Someone’s Missing,” “Flash Delirium,” “I Found a Whistle,” “Siberian Breaks,” “Brian Eno,” “Lady Dada’s Nightmare,” and “Congratulations.”

The band have made this track ‘Flash Delirium’ available as a free download. See what you think…The title track has already been leaked -and already been asked to be taken down…

MGMT -’Flash Delirium.’ mp3

MGMT website/MGMT myspace

…sleep.*

Back working after ten months off, and I’m feeling shattered, if upbeat.

Right now, this hits the spot more than anything. Whitacre’s music is awesome, to the point of there being a facebook group called ‘Whitacre gives me chordgasms.’ Or so I’m told.

I should post more classical music here. Let me know what you think…

University of Miami Chorale -’Sleep (Stephen Whitacre).’ mp3

Meanwhile…if you need more popular stuff, check down below for mp3s from Punch and the Apostles and the Last Battle.

* This is not the new 17 Seconds Cat, he’s still too shy to have his photo taken.

Gutted to hear about Mark Linkous’ death from suicide.

I’m not an authority on his music, but it touched me, and it’s clear that a lot of people will be coming to terms with the loss of a hugely talented singer-songwriter for a long time to come.

I played this song on repeat last night…until the poignancy became almost too much to bear. The comment from his family on the website “It is with great sadness that we share the news that our dear friend and family member, Mark Linkous, took his own life today. We are thankful for his time with us and will hold him forever in our hearts. May his journey be peaceful, happy and free. There’s a heaven and there’s a star for you” is almost too much to read.

So, for what it’s worth…

Sparklehorse -’Sick Of Goodbyes.’ mp3

Rest in peace.

Punch and the Apostles -’Punch and the Apostles’ (Repellent)

This album appears to have just snuck out, quietly, under the radar and even many blogs that seem to be well and truly on the money don’t appear to have reviewed it yet (though bluesbunny
), Kowalskiy and Is This Music? have done).

This album is released as a limited edition of 1,000 and on download, but don’t let it slip out of your grasp. Having released a handful of singles (including the rather excellent ‘I’m A Hobo’) their debut album is a very serious contender for one of the albums of the year. Not just in Scotland - but anywhere.

To listen to this album is to be assorted by a variety of influences - I might jot down burlesque cabaret, free jazz and Tom Waits, but then I’d probably need to add about another 100 to the list. It’s an album that grabs you from the off - but each listen reveals something else. Paul Napier sounds like a man on the edge of a peer in the most bizarre freakshow -and I mean that as a compliment. This could be the last souundtrack you would ever hear -and it would be a fantastic way to go.

This album is full of spirit and passion. Whilst many bands might make the comment ‘that we do what we do and if anyone likes it, that’s a bonus’ you know they’re producing rubbish. Yet Mr. Napier and chums make this all sound so natural, and do n’t care what anyone else says or thinks, as they suck you into a colourful, if excitingly dark and dangerous world.

From start to finish, this album is a real treat. Don’t let it be a well-kept secret, spill the beans and tell everyone you know who actually cares about decent music.

****1/2

Punch and the Apostles is out now.

Pop along to their myspace to hear tracks.

UPDATE: I emailed the band who very graciously said I could post one of their tracks, so for your listening pleasure:

Punch and the Apostles -’I'm A Hobo.’ mp3

The Last Battle are currently making major waves in the Edinburgh music scene. The Edinburgh six-piece have already performed sessions for Leith FM and for Song, By Toad’s show on Fresh FM. Both of which were fantastic -and continue to show just how helathy the scottish music scene is at the moment.

Lead by Scott Longmuir (vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin); the band also comprises Liam O’Hare on percussion, Arwen Duncan (vocals, percussion), Paul Barrett (bass), Flora McKay (’cello) and on glockenspiel and melodica, Ella Duncan. Live they have also been helped out by Stephen Kerr and Bart from eagleowl (sic). Though still unsigned, this cannot remain that way for long, not with songs like ‘Whiskey!’ and ‘Lifejackets’ under their belts. These are songs to be treasured and appreciated, again and again. Not only that, but within a handful of plays you are totally smitten.

The band list a number of influences, not just fellow scots acts like ballboy, Belle & Sebastian and John Martyn, but also Oor Wullie and Leith. They’re very proud of being based in Leith - to the extent that the gigs on their myspace differentiate whether they are in Edinburgh or Leith.

One things for sure - wherever they call home, this band are most defnitely going places.

Go here to download the Last Battle’s session for leith FM at Peenko. the session for Song, By Toad should be available to download from next week.

Go here to download a free album which features them, eagleowl and many fine scottish bands.

Pop along and make friends at their myspace

Edinburgh band Midas Fall are taking the template for moody ethereal scottish indie and going some serious places with it, if the songs that make up their debut album Eleven. Return and Revert are anything to go by. And yes, that full stop is meant to be there.

The five piece are Elizabeth Heaton (Vocals, guitar, synths), Rowan Burn (guitar, piano), Brian Dunsmore (synths, piano, guitar), Jamie Scobie(bass) and Adam Ley-Lange (drums). Normally words like melodic and haunting in press releases are bywords for bland, but in this case, these adjectives are compliments. They cite Radiohead (I would go for circa OK Computer ) and Portishead amongst their influences, and I’d be surprised if the likes of Aereogramme, Mogwai and other scottish acts whose music evokes the dark but beautiful Caledonian winters hadn’t flitted across the bands’ stereos. They’re due to support Japanese post-rockers Mono in Glasgow soon, which should be a night and a half to behold.

The album is out in April 26 on Monotreme Records - and I sincerely hope that not only the scottish blogging community but the scottish music loving populace and further afield will take them to their hearts. They deserve it.

Get your ears around this:

Midas Fall -’Movie Screens.’ mp3

Midas Fall perform Movie Screens live:

Pop along to their myspace page for live dates and to make friends

Viv Albertine - ‘Flesh EP’ (Ecstatic Peace)

Viv Albertine’s EP is her first release in twenty-five years. Whatever she has been up to in that time (the press release doesn’t say - and the reputation of the Slits is one that you would always be respectful to one of its’ members), she is now back recording and playing live with her band Limerence, and signed to Ecstatic Peace. Ecstatic Peace is the label run by Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, so utterly cool that it makes the likes of Sub Pop, Matador and Domino look like mere wallflowers by comparison.

Over the course of four songs, Ms. Albertine sets out her stall again, with four tracks that show that she was definitely a member of one of the most adventurous groups ever, and all these years after Cut, the Slits’ peerless debut, she can produce stuff that has a serious edge. This is music that is deeply personal, that still has a pop sensibility and is completely on her own terms. Original Slits drummer Palmolive went on to join the Raincoats and in many ways this solo EP reminds me far more of their debut than that of the Slits. ‘Never Come,’ the opening track holds its’ own with anything the Slits or Raincoats produced, indeed the whole EP does. The first band she was in, Flowers of Romance also featured Keith Levene (who would join PiL), the aforementioned Palmolive and one Sid Vicious. The influences of the past are here but she’s not looking backwards.

It’s an EP that benefits from frequent listening and from repeated playing -already this evening I’ve played it three times, and I’m likely to give it another spin again soon.

****1/2

Flesh is out now on Ecstatic Peace.

Stream it here:

Viv Albertine’s website/Viv Albertine’s myspace

Just how different would the music scene in Britain be without the likes of DJs like Steve Lamacq?

Thoroughly annoyed at the news about 6Music looking likely to be closed down by the BBC. This has been blogged about by many other people far more eloquently than I I feel I could do right now, but suffice to say: There is the demand for it. There is a need for it. Can I listen to it in the car? No, I can’t - but listening to local radio play the likes of Hard-Fi, Snow Patrol, Kaiser Chiefs, Biffy Clyro and various other ‘indie bands’ who crossed over, the point is that we need stations and DJs to champion this stuff. Is this mainstream indie? Of course it is, but the likelihood of hearing Biffy or Snow Patrol on daytime local radio 10 years ago seemed remote. The Beeb has always had a more adventurous music policy - and radio is still key to breaking bands in the 21st century.

Tom Robinson at 6Music was one of the very first DJs to play 17 Seconds Records’ music, and it meant a huge deal. There is some talk of Radio 2 being sharpened up - but dammit, what I wanted was for 6Music to be easier to get hold of, not to have to scratch around for decent music on the radio. People like Steve Lamacq, Jarvis Cocker, Lauren Laverne and other 6Music DJs who actually care about music shouldn’t be having to worry about their jobs. The Beeb wouldn’t axe Radio 3, even though its’ listening figures are not drastically higher than those of 6music. And whilst I have to confess I haven’t listened to the Asian Network either, I hope these two stations fight their corner. Maybe if the Beeb stopped paying inflated salaries to certain presenters…? Hate to point out the Emperor is actually stark bollock naked, but, y’know…

I think this hits the spot very well…

Ballboy -’All the Records On The Radio Are Shite.’ mp3

Update: watch Adam Buxton offer mark ‘Tommo’ Thompson out for a fight!

It’s been pleasing to see how many shops have got the Dirty cuts’ single in now, so if you haven’t seen them live yet…check out this cover of ‘Atomic’ by Blondie.

Recorded on an mobile, it nevertheless captures the sheer energy of their shows. It also manages not to capture me dancing like a maniac…thank you however recorded this at the January gig…

Y’know, normally if a band came along who’d formed only earlier this year, who had but two songs to their name, I’d think it was a bit early to be featuring them. Especially seeing as they haven’t played any shows even.But, dammit, Whirl just sound so ready to go on these two songs alone. The California band deserve to go places with their gorgeous shoegaze sound. Even the name sounds perfectly 1990 - and i mean that as a compliment.

There’s six of them: Eddie, Loren, Byanca, Sergio, Joey and Nick. They have released their demo on cassette (if you think no-one buys cassettes any more, may I sugggest you start reading The Wire and stop reading Q; there has been a real increase in underground bands putting their stuff out on cassette) which you can buy via their myspace.

I’m not the only one who thinks they’re ace, either. Christina Marie, one half of 17 Seconds Records’ act Factory Kids, and also writer of the very fine Girls Sold Out blog has already interviewed them, here.

Whirl -’Leave.’ mp3

Whirl -’Meaningless.’ mp3

Whirl Myspace