teamABC - Complaints Dept.
teamABC are a band I stumbled across some time last year through some nice words on Johnny Foreigner’s Formspring account, and as usual Lex didn’t let me down. I downloaded their free “20 Songs By teamABC” compilation (still available here) and from the first track, the unashamedly exuberant Another Fight, Another Defeat, I was hooked. I ended up downloading all the EPs and albums on their bandcamp and eventually ended up buying the beautifully packaged “teamABC Collection”, a handmade 6 CD set of everything they’d recorded up to that point. In short, they’re one of my favourite bands around at the moment and I think they deserve a lot more recognition.
REAL-TIME REVIEW: “Paradise” by Slow Club
My copy of Slow Club’s new album “Paradise” arrived in the post this morning, and I’m just about to listen to it for the first time. Below I will be writing my first impressions of the record, in another of AGCS’ ever popular real-time reviews.
Is reviewing a record on the impulsive reactions provoked by the first listen a worthwhile pursuit? Perhaps not: the list of albums I have hated on first listen but gone on to love, and the reverse, would be a long one. But to quote David Byrne in Seen And Not Seen, “first impressions are often correct” - and that certainly proved to be the case with the last of Montreal album. Here’s hoping Slow Club’s record can provoke a better reaction than that!
Anyway, let’s not get bogged down in the theory. Suffice to say, this does not aim to be an exhaustive review but my first impressions of the record on my first listen. Without further ado, then, let’s press play on “Paradise”…
PJ Harvey’s “Let England Shake” Wins The Mercury Prize
It’s fair to say the Mercury Prize isn’t always the most reliable judge of what constitutes an interesting, innovative or even remotely listenable record (see: Klaxons), but on this occasion they only went and got it right! OK, so it would have been nice to see either Metronomy or Everything Everything get a sales boost for their very good albums, but Let England Shake was just so far ahead of the rest it really couldn’t have been anything else. Not to say “I told you so”, but here’s my initial, gushing 10/10 review of the record.
Jed. x
Johnny Foreigner Announce New Album
Released November 7th on Alcopop Records
Just two days ago I wrote that Los Campesinos’ new album title “Hello Sadness”, would work pretty well as a band motto. Well Johnny Foreigner only had to one-up that, didn’t they? Because anyone who has read frontman Alexei’s writings on the band’s blog will know that “Vs Everything” could be not just Johnny Foreigner’s motto but their manifesto. And as is the case with most of Alexei’s internet rants, I’m squarely in the Johnny Foreigner camp.
Los Campesinos! Announce New Album
“Hello Sadness”. It could very well be the band’s motto; instead it’s the title of the new record from Los Campesinos!, due out on November 14th, and it’s got me very excited. Any regular visitors to this site should by now know that my obsession with LC! knows no bounds, and I’m so excited right now I can barely type. But I will try.
Radioactive (Blood Orange Remix)
I really like the new Marina + The Diamonds song. So I decided to do a remix of it.
Enjoy. Kisses. ♥♥♥
vectro@hotmail.co.uk Thanks!
The first Ben Folds Five track in over ten years; House
TRAMLINES FESTIVAL: Saturday
Having shouted myself hoarse during Hot Club De Paris the night before, I wake up on Saturday morning feeling decidedly worse for wear. Despite this I’m still off to a relatively early start (alright, 1 O’clock) at the Nando’s New Music Stage, for NME-endorsed next big thing Hey Sholay. I’ll admit, given the NME’s recent, unwavering support for such illustrious acts as (Viva) Brother and The Vaccines I had certain preconceptions about the band, so it’s a pleasant surprise when they prove not to be Oasis aping lad-rock or feather-light guitar janglers but proponents of psychedelic pop music. They’re properly good, so check them out below.
Gold teeth and goodbyes (a song for sparrows) ((HEY SHOLAY)) by Hey Sholay
TRAMLINES FESTIVAL: Friday
After Thursday’s “Tramlines Eve”, on Friday the festival proper kicks off and I get to see some pretty awesome bands, as well as one band so bad they genuinely made me angry. Oh well. I’ll try and focus on the positive.
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