Song/Video Of The Day: Viva Viva - Dead In Yr Tracks

In honor of them starting to record a new album, this is the lead track from their last awesome EP

Song/Video Of The Day: Catherine - Four Leaf Clover

Rarely heard gem, Smashing Pumpkins associated band from the best decade ever for music the 90's

Song/Video Of The Day: Therepy? - Nowhere

A classic oldie, one of the first bands i got into

Song/Video Of The Day: Redd Kross - Stay Away From Downtown

One of the best bands no one's heard of, it's a bloody crime

Song/Video Of The Day: Hey! Hello! - Swimwear

Ginger Wildheart and Victoria Liedke's power pop perfection, infectious as herpes

Song/Video Of The Day: Baby Godzilla - Powerboat Disaster

You just can't get more brutal, yet inventive than this, one of the best live bands in britain at the moment

Song/Video Of The Day: The Kinison - You'll Never Guess Who Died

Brilliant song from back in 2004, great mixing that brings every instrument to life

Song/Video Of The Day: The Wytches - Wire Frame Mattress

Fast becoming one of my favourite new bands, i must have every song they've released, i must!

Song/Video Of The Day: Pulled Apart By Horses - Hot Squash

I had a bad feeling these guys might go all radio friendly, but it's great to be proved wrong with this big slab of rock

Song/Video Of The Day: Drenge - Backwaters

Another great duet band, brothers, these guys, The Cribs and Radkey should do a brothers tour

NEW MUSIC ROUND-UP (Mexanines / Honeyblood / Witch Hunt / Allusondrugs / Brawlers / Catfish & The Bottlemen / Lyger / Southern / Superfood / Wytches)

As mentioned in my Record Store Day article, one good way to try some new bands is emusic, every month for a tenner you can download around 23 songs, this month i decided to have a look at some of the bands i'd have liked to have caught at Live At Leeds but couldn't fit them in.

First up from Bradford are The Mexanines, 'Shimmer' isn't one of their newest songs but it's the only one on emusic, based on this i'll be checking out their newer stuff as soon as i can, great backbeat with catchy hooks, also nice use of saxophone which you don't hear many bands utilising these days.
https://www.facebook.com/themexanines
http://themexanines.bandcamp.com/

Next is Glasgow's Honeyblood with their first single 'Bud', with a lovely slackerpop style and gorgeous coy vocals, Bud is a really relaxing song with a catchy undercurrent throughout. B-side 'Kissing On You' is a much more raucous affair and all the better for it, Bud i really liked but i love the B-side much more, looking forward to hearing their next single.
https://www.facebook.com/honeybloodeatitup
http://honeyblood.bandcamp.com/

Leeds own The Witch Hunt next, now i've already heard their excellent new EP 'Little Book Of Hate' so decided to check out previous single 'Crawl', Louisa's vocals cut straight through to the core as they always do. The Witch Hunt are currently Leeds best kept secret, like a more minimalistic twisted Florence & The Machine, i actually did catch them at Live At Leeds but just needed to hear more. The demo of 'Polly' shows clearly that amazing songwriting will always trump spending loads on production costs.
https://www.facebook.com/wearewitchhunt
http://witchhunt.bandcamp.com/

Allusondrugs unfortunately clashed with labelmates NARCS at LAL, so i felt compelled to give their new single 'Nervous' a try, wonderfully catchy rock that i was for some reason expecting to be heavier, with a real 90's rock vibe with great spiralling guitar lines. 2nd track 'Handicapped' however does showcase their heavier side, again carrying that 90's rock style that brings to mind Alice In Chains with an eastern guitar riff, the future looks good for these Leeds lads.
https://www.facebook.com/Allusondrugs
http://allusondrugs.bandcamp.com/
http://cluerecords.bandcamp.com/

Another Leeds band up next, Brawlers with the interestingly titled 'I Am A Worthless Piece of Shit' despite branding themselves as punk, this EP carries way more melody than the average punk band. They do have some great melodies but don't quite blow me away with the first few tracks, things pick up later on with 'No Sweat' which kicks off with a heavier guitar riff, Brawlers seem to me to be at their best when at their fastest, like moments in 'Heart Attack', i'm not as keen on the slower stuff.
https://www.facebook.com/wearebrawlers
http://brawlers.bandcamp.com/

The first band i've ever heard of coming from Llandudno up next, the weirdly titled Catfish & The Bottlemen with their latest offering 'Kathleen'. Previous singles have got me interested in this band, and their latest single is even more explosive than before, starting out slower and building to a crescendo of energy, can't wait to hear an albums worth.
https://www.facebook.com/catfishandthebottlemen

Lyger are a band i'd not heard of until today, i'm glad that's changed, Two singles here, starting with 'Power Struggle' a great alt-rock style awash with distorted rhythm, however the other single 'Stroke' shows how exciting this band is. If these are their first singles, surely there's even better to come.
https://www.facebook.com/lygerband
http://lyger.bandcamp.com/

The brother/sister duo Southern were in my bands to watch article and previous single 'Shout It' had my dying to hear more, so new single 'Where The Wild Are' was a must have. Thom's vocals carry the main song with an intense energy backed beautifully by Lucy's elegant harmonies. Lucy then takes lead on 'Oh Won't You Go' with a breathless whisper style, showcasing the versatile songwriting with this relaxed lull of a song, and finally we have 'Four Days' a western styled duet between the two with a big stomping drumbeat reminding me of the thing i love the most about Southern, you never know what they'll come up with next.
https://www.facebook.com/thisissouthern

During GOD DAMN's set at LAL, they asked who was going to see Superfood later, at that point i had no idea who Superfood were. I've rectified this by downloading their 'MAM' EP, and they are a glorious fuzzed up mess of a band, opener 'TV' serves as a great introduction to the twisted pop that follows. 'Bubble' especially shows their nack for irresistibly catchy songwriting, gotta love their teletext style website as well, definitely ones to catch.
https://www.facebook.com/superfoodjunk?filter=2

http://www.superfoodjunk.com/

Finally i had a little credit left over from last month so i went for the new single 'Gravedweller' by The Wytches, these guys have been getting a lot of attention and recommendations lately so i had to have a listen. Now this is some demented psychedelic stuff, two parts genius with one part mess all mixed up with a real early Nirvana style undercurrent, with a guitar line that swirls around your brain. I'm on board, where do we go from here? Things are turning out all weird...
https://www.facebook.com/thewytches
http://thewytches.bandcamp.com/

Song/Video Of The Day: Black Moth - Blackbirds Fall

A nice Slabbeth of Sabbethesque rock from Leeds own Black Moth, excellent band

Song/Video Of The Day: The Witch Hunt - Army Man

One of the best voices in the UK at the moment and great songwriting too, they have it all

Song/Video Of The Day: Youth Man - Heavy Rain

Continuing the tradition of bands i caught at Live At Leeds, Youth Man unfortunately had bad sound problems but this song off their new EP is outstanding

Song/Video Of The Day: Courtney Barnett - Avant Gardener

Another great act from this years Live At Leeds, this song will bury it's way into your head for days, so simplistic and adictive, the future looks bright for this one.

Song/Video Of The Day: NARCS - Coast To Coast

The best way to start your day was catching NARCS at the Brudenell at 12:30 in the afternoon at Live At Leeds, Coast to Coast is their new single and a highliht off their debut album.

Song/Video Of The Day: The Amazing Snakeheads - Flatlining

Easily the best band of the day at this years Live At Leeds, minimalistically brilliant and a tad on the aggressive side.

Song/Video Of The Day: CJ Wildheart - Down The Drain

New single from CJ Wildheart, formally of Honeycrack, The Jellys, The Mau-Maus, CJ & The Satellites, The Tattooed Love Boys, and obviously The Wildhearts, this is a lovely little pop-rock nugget from his forthcoming pledge solo album 'Mable'

NEW MUSIC REVIEW: Nishe - This Is Nishe EP

Debut EP by London 3-piece Nishe, i'm always looking to listen to something new, so was happy to get this EP in the post for review, even happier when i put it on. Coming across with an Arctic Monkey's slant but with grander choruses and a little less of the too cool for school attitude, Nishe just stick to penning catchy bouncy indie rock. Opener 'You Got Me Blind' flows effortlessly into the almost skaesque 'This Time' showcasing the myriad of influences the band obviously have, These four tracks of energy filled anthemic rock make me look forward to seeing where this band go next, by no means perfect but a great start.

7/10

listen here: https://soundcloud.com/nisheband

NEW MUSIC REVIEW: Buildings - It Doesn't Matter EP (Riot House Records)

I've been a fan since these guys were recommended by excellent blog The Elementary Revolt when their last album came out, so when i heard Buildings were putting out a new EP i had to hear it. Coming across like early-Helmet when they were full of rage, Buildings would have been right at home on Amphetamine Reptile, they are noise rock of the highest order. Barked vocals over heavy as fuck riffs 'Gold' surpasses everything they've done before including 2011's excellent 'Melt, Cry, Sleep'. This is one of my favourite EP's lately, up there with the new GVSB and that's saying something, both stand as a collection of outstanding rock songs that leave you wishing it was a full album, which is surely the point of an EP. If there was more music like this on the radio i might actually give it more of a listen, wishing we could bring back the days of John Peel where this band and many others would have been played regularly. So if your missing the good old days of Helmet, Jesus Lizard, Shellac etc.. Buildings are for you, Brutally brilliant stuff.

9/10

buy here:
http://riothouserecords.bandcamp.com/album/it-doesnt-matter
http://riothouserecords.bigcartel.com/product/buildings-it-doesn-t-matter-10-inch-ep-presale

NEW MUSIC REVIEW: Little Dove - Little Dove

Pounding straight into 'Eyes' Little Dove show a statement of intent to hammer you with the kind of songs the white stripes used to write before they went all arty and English? towards the end. Not that Little Dove are mere stripes copyists, vocalist Vanja James has a broader vocal range giving every song a huge epic feel while still retaining a basic blues stomp blueprint. Throughout the 11 tracks on this self-titled self-released album there isn't a dud, recent single 'Sink Ships' is easily a highlight showcasing the band at their most stripped back. Little Dove are just one of numerous new bands showing that you don't need major label backing to create some noise, you just need some cracking tunes and to put the effort in. Brilliant brilliant stuff.

8/10

buy here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Little-Dove/dp/B00E1YN3FU/ref=sr_1_1?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1399029902&sr=1-1&keywords=little+dove

NEW MUSIC REVIEW: Knuckle - Living Hell

Knuckle themselves say it best, they make filthy garage blues music, return readers will already be aware of my fondness for Jonny Firth's output, his 2012 solo album 'Broken Bones' wiped the floor the majority of albums released by any UK or worldwide artist for that matter, and this years CryBabyCry EP is still on my regular rotation, and now we have the first single from his latest outfit Knuckle. Kicking off with a stripped back guitar line and effortlessly cool basic drums, before launching into a huge catchy chorus and spiralling into deep filthy rock'n'roll, showcasing just why they made the bands to keep an eye out for feature based on 1 live youtube clip. This tune is another for the regular rotation, and after seeing them live recently, it's not even their best song, so there's much better still to come.

8.5/10

acquire here: http://weareknuckle.bandcamp.com/track/living-hell

NEW MUSIC REVIEW: The Bright Smoke - Virginia Et Al.

Opening with the introspective 'God Willing' The Bright Smoke aka Mia Wilson immediately showcases a brooding slow textured stomp into your psyche, leaving you aching for more. Luckily the rest of this EP does not disappoint, six achingly beautiful songs in the vein of PJ Harvey's most stripped back work and giving contempories such as Anna Calvi a run for their money. If you're into effortlessly stripped back haunted music that could soundtrack a femme fatale scene in a film noir the The Bright Smoke are for you. Very nice indeed.

7.5/10

buy here: http://thebrightsmoke.bandcamp.com/