ICE CREAMS AND YUMS

by Chloe Coles

YOUTH LAGOON

 Youth Lagoon manages to conjure up an epic style that is both broad and contained in it's own world. When listening to tracks like "Cannons" and "July", one is immersed in this world. A world where his whispered croon is at the back of the mix, making it even more mysterious and cryptic. A world where the most simple and roughly recorded versions of instrumentation build and swell to epic proportions. Various instruments help to pluck at the heart strings, ranging from piano to guitar to crunchy percussion. They are fragile little gems of sound, so make like Indiana Jones and dig them out from the Tomb Of The Internet.


http://soundcloud.com/youth-lagoon

For Fans Of:

Therapies Son, Memory Tapes, Beach House

THANKFUL CHLO

It was my birthday and I got given some lovely things, so I made these for some lovely people.

TRIBES

Tribes first got mouths yabbering and drooling by simply playing gigs, no internet, no hype man or media forward thrust. And if that isn't enough to convince you that these guys are true rock N rollers then their songs will. Big guitars, quiet bits then loud bits, booming drums, throaty vocals and raise the roof choruses are what Tribes have got to give. They are here to do nothing but make you feel good by bashing it out on guitars. Let's all take a minute to feel good about that.

http://www.myspace.com/tribesband


For Fans Of:

Mona, The Vaccines, Jimmy Eat World

FEAR OF MEN

Ahh the simple pleasurable pleasures in life. Fear Of Men just made it to the top of the list of pleasures in life, compiled by the great gods of goodness. But enough with that mumbojumbo, Fear Of Men are here! Bringing with them, melodically rich offerings of song. The lyrical meanings won't come straight away, but what will grab you by the ears and tug, is the choir like harmonies, gently strummed guitars and softly thudding drums. They released a tape recently on record label Sex Is Disgusting. Try googleing "FEAR OF MEN SEX IS DISGUSTING" and see what chortle-inducing things turn up. Jokes aside however, Fear Of Men have a daintily melancholic pep in their step and they are jolly well worth a listen. There is nothing to fear my dear, with Fear Of Men here, don't steer clear, ride a deer, into their arms!

http://fearofmen.bandcamp.com/


For Fans Of:

La Sera, Dum Dum Girls, Veronica Falls

HOW TO DRESS WELL

So maybe Champ is a bit late on the How To Dress Well phenomenon, but boy is he fine G. Where he may not show you the way to dressing well, he will show you his shiny new songs that will make you feel cold in a good way. Nice shivers. Alas, How To Dress Well, at first listen, may make you want to yawn and say things like "boo lo-fi" or "hiss! hipster poo". But just build a bridge, because How To Dress Well are worth your ear time. He do it better than anyone ever seen do it. According to the internet evidence, its just one dude making the dreamy, barely held together by a thread R'n'B. He has taken a genre that has lost its cool from constant overplaying on the radio and overproduction from overproducing over-producers. And do you know what he has done with it? He has made R'n'B ice cold cool again. The rhythm bit of Rhythm and Blues though, has been replaced with abstract synth washing sounds and general atmospheric tension. The Blues is there in all it's cryptic glory. It works really well, and accompanied by his soulfully high pitched croon, a winning formula has been invented. Gold has been struck. It's not cool to just pigeon hole the man into ethereal R'n'B. But it sounds cool. And so does How To Dress Well.


http://howtodresswell.blogspot.com/


For Fans Of:

The Weeknd, Blackbird Blackbird, Balam Acab

ERIC RIVERA

Some people are gifted. Eric Rivera is one of those people. He has a creative buzz around him that brings to the world: comics, art, videos and best of all: songs. He has been performing them solo as Eric Rivera around the town of Northampton and has become the man, the myth, the legend. Done. His creative output comes mainly from Cologne Factory, which is his comic book imprint and the name given to his musical output. He is also involved with the brilliantly nut job Mankindness Records. So you get the picture: awesome dude, with enough ideas for three people's minds. Then when you hear his songs, you'll know why music is one of his most exuberantly good talents. Whistles, yodels, guitar strums and deranged lyricism make each one of his songs just the right amount of catchy and the nice side of weird. They make sense to the ears. Trust.

http://colognefactory.blogspot.com/

For Fans Of:

Winston Echo, Magic Tricks, Line & A Dot