Tuesday, 13 July 2010

Round Up Reviews #3

You might know the deal with these by now, but if not the point of the Round Up Reviews is to quickly cover short things - singles, lone tracks and the like - that I wouldn't otherwise get to.

So Many Animal Calls - Your House Is A Hospice
Described as a teaser for an upcoming EP, and knocked out in a week there's more than enough here to get me a bit excited about hearing that EP. There's some really good stuff here, much of which isn't what I'd usually listen to. Strong vocals and a couple of killer riffs get the blood pumping on the first two tracks, which also change the pace up throughout to keep things interesting. Final song Secrets is more sedate for the most part, hinting that there's more to So Many Animal Calls than you might originally think. As a statement of intent Your House Is A Hospice is a fine one, and one that is hard not to pay attention to.
I'm probably not going to make it along to their debut gig on Wednesday night at The Captain's Rest, so some of you should go in my place.
Your House Is A Hospice is available free from Bandcamp.

The Ray Summers - Heshka Rashka
Unashamedly retro indie fun. Maybe not credible or trendy, but The Ray Summers are a band I've long had a soft spot for. Heshka Rashka makes for a nice slice of summery, bouncy indie pop that'll no doubt be hated by the cool kids, but gets my head bobbing, that's more than good enough for me. It's ok to unclench and have some fun sometimes you know.
Heshka Rashka is released on August 2nd.

Beldina O - Chariots
A drastic change of pace and styles from everything else in this piece, Chariots is a gorgeous stripped back song. It's a bit of an unfair comparison to make, but this reminds me a little bit of Martha Wainwright. No particular reason, it just does. This is a very good thing. I know next to nothing about Beldina O to be honest, but you can bet I'll be doing my best to keep a look out for more from here. Lovely.
Chariots is available as a free download from Soundcloud.

q without u - Paper Cuts
I thought q without u had vanished, but happily not. This is the first I've heard of them in a while, and it is a welcome reminder that I'd really enjoyed Shut Up! I Invented You, the album they released. Paper Cuts is a teaser for an album coming later in the year, and is - again - plain fun. Heavily accented Scottish indie pop is always welcome round here, and Paper Cuts is a fine example of it. Bonus points for sounding like it is about to fall apart and come to a dead stop halfway through too.
Paper Cuts is available from Bandcamp, where you can also pick up their debut album for free.



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