The Kickliner

Being a guitar band from Sheffield and having Alan Smyth come to a gig, be impressed by what he saw and then record four of your tracks must be an absolute dream. That’s what happened to The Kickliner in July and although it probably puts a fair bit of pressure on you as a band, it doesn’t seem to have affected them at all. And as much as there are similarities to ‘those’ indie bands from a few years ago, there’s also something very genuine about these tunes. I really like this and I hope it goes a long way because I’d love to hear more.

The Kickliner – Romance Is Ruined

The Kickliner – Parade

The Kickliner – Paper and Grass

No London shows are booked at the moment, but the wheels are rolling so hopefully it shouldn’t be long.

Mausi

This song ‘sol.’ by Geordie band Mausi is my new favourite. Autumn sun is the best weather of all and I can’t think of a better soundtrack than this. Watch/stream below, and you can also download a remix by the brilliant Channel Swimmer. Plus the original is available for download from the band’s website - I suggest you do this immediately because it is absolute bliss.

 

Mausi – sol.

Mausi – sol. (Channel Swimmer remix) [download from soundcloud]

Skirts

Skirts are a two-piece from Brighton and as you can see they look like scary bastards. I’m sure they’re not. Their formula seems to be to listen to The Kills, write a two minute song in five minutes, record it immediately, stick some humorous found footage over the top and put it straight on the internet. Maybe not everyone’s cup of tea but it works for me; there’s something I really like about these two songs.

Skirts – “Dance Into The Night” from Skirts on Vimeo.

Skirts – “Knocked Back” from Skirts on Vimeo.

 

Fractures

Fractures are a classic sounding, ‘genuine’ UK guitar band. Their first demos went up online a couple of months ago and while I thought they were decent, something about them failed to really grab me. Now the first single has gone up and I love it. Simple sound, simple structure, big fucking chorus. Marvellous.

 

Fractures – Nicotine

The song will be released as a free download on Lonely Records on 31st of the month. Can’t wait to see this live.

(if you’re on the homepage and can only see half the video, click here)

Frontiers

Frontiers have been around for ages – they formed in 2007 and played BBC Introducing at Reading and Leeds in 2009 – but they put some new recordings up recently and they sound nice and big. Every piece of press about them says that they sound like Interpol/early Cure, which if you’re being cynical might make you wonder why they haven’t received more attention in the last few years.

I am a cynical bastard but I also like this very much, so I’m going to say that it’s because they’ve never quite nailed their sound on record before. These new recordings are only demos but they still sound great and hint at definite potential to become a big British guitar band next year.

Frontiers – Alibi (demo)

Frontiers – In Pursuit (demo)

Motocade

Motocade are a band from New Zealand, and their single ‘Holy Moly’ came out on Cosine Records this week. It’s a cheery, borderline cheesy guitar pop song which draws you in immediately with infectious rhythm and melody, and by the time the chorus builds in the second half you find yourself completely and gloriously immersed in layer upon layer of slick guitars which provide the perfect backdrop to an insanely catchy hook.

Motocade – Holy Moly (download from soundcloud)

The label behind this release is a new personal favourite, and definitely one to take note of. It’s the same two guys who just put out the excellent ‘Trojans’ by Atlas Genius, and you only have to look at the excitement that’s been building around that band to see that this is a promising label with impeccable taste in guitar pop and surely many great records to come.

Stream the other half of the release, the excellent ‘Candy Boy’ by French act Concorde, below:

Concorde – Candy Boy (download from soundcloud)

We Humans

I first gave a heads up on We Humans in July of last year and it’s been pretty silent from them since then, but now they’re back and they’ve cemented a really decent sound.

These are 4 lads from Shropshire and they’re a band with very strong pop sensibilities. ‘One In A Million’ is a warm and instantly infectious song which, in line with the other tracks that I’ve heard, is indicative of their signature sound.

Another tune, the equally strong ‘Axis’, will be released alongside this one on 14th November and should be appearing online soon. But for now sink your teeth in to ‘One In A Million’, because it’s brilliant:

We Humans – One In A Million