Good Weather For Airstrikes

So I’ve been straight up slaving over my Top 50 Tracks of ‘06 list over the last few weeks now and it’s shaping up nicely, but a few tracks have presented themselves as downright unrankable. Whether it’s because their epic scale and scope prevented them from being able to be viewed on the same plane as the rest of ’06’s finest tracks or just because of some technically disqualifying factor, these songs could find no place on my Top Tracks list, but are still wholly deserving of your love and attention (all very highly recommended; that goes without saying).

MP3: “Take Me Into Your Skin” - Trentemoller

Jesus, how did I manage to go an entire six months without posting this song. One of the single most remarkable accomplishment in the recent history of electronic music, “Take Me Into Your Skin” is an absolute monster of massive beats and ridiculous textures. The song stands as evidence of Trentemoller’s near-limitless potential, and if “Take Me Into Your Skin” is anything to go on, he may very well revolutionize electronic music as we know it in the not-too-distant future. Seriously, the sonic textures he creates on this song are absolutely mind-blowing. Synths drift in and out of consciousness, fuzzy textures jostle for position in the mix, a spastic click track underlies the rhythm, ethereal voices moan in the distance and that pulsating bassline just builds and builds and builds until the 2:26 mark hits and everything just DROPS. And then he builds it up again, and again, creating an even more mind-blowing effect with each climax. Just when you thought you couldn’t take anymore, God himself brings his fist down from the heavens and rocks the earth to its core (I mean seriously, it feels like that) at the 6:26 mark and you get reborn a little. All of a sudden it’s over and you’re left alone in the barren Danish wilderness trying to figure out what the fuck just happened and how you can do it again. I might outright name it the song of the year (or at least the musical accomplishment of 2006) if it were just a song, but it’s not - it’s an experience.

MP3: “Thin Blue Flame” - Josh Ritter

I know I haven’t posted on Josh Ritter at all this year, but his album, The Animal Years, is a great record and is definitely worth checking out. It’s solid throughout, but the unquestionable highlight is this 9-minute opus, which is one of the most compelling and awe-inspiring songs to come out in this or any other year. Bursting at the seams with symbolic imagery and deeper meaning ripe for the mining, “Thin Blue Flame” is Ritter’s crowning achievement as a song writer and perhaps one of the finest songwriting accomplishments of our time. Ritter examines the hypocrisy of religion and the uncertainty of Heaven using Shakespeare references, poker imagery and constant allusions to war and religion, weaving countless themes together while somehow maintaining a clear focus and coherent narrative throughout. Former Modest Mouse and Iron & Wine knob-twiddler Brian Deck provides the perfect production, giving the song a spacious, dusty feel befitting of the dark, storytime-in-the-attic feel of the song. Ritter alternates between a languorous introspective guitar riff and a pounding, bombastic piano to backdrop his message, until it builds to a remarkable climax as the song enters it’s final quarter over booming drums and explosive cymbal crashes. In the end, the “thin blue line” Ritter describes in the songs opening line proves to be the thin line between Heaven and Hell and life on Earth and life in death, with the ultimate message being one of optimism despite the seemingly rampant negativity in the song. Ritter urges the listener to embrace life and what happiness they can find on Earth, rather than constantly looking to the sky for answers and meaning, an inspiring and much-needed message in an age of such day-to-day uncertainty and all-consuming insecurity.

MP3: “Sao Paolo” - Guillemots

Wow. As if Guillemots didn’t push the boundaries of pop music enough on their awe-inspiring and ambitious-as-shit debut LP, Through The Windowpane, they had to go and make the last track the most bombastic, over-the-top pop music behemoth to ever walk the Earth. Like the first two songs here, “Sao Paolo” is more of an incredible artistic accomplishment than merely a good song, so it’s hard to place this among other, more conventional tracks on these year-end song lists. Thus it ends up here, with the rest of these epic unrankables. As a whole, Through The Windowpane is an extremely cinematic experience, but it’s “Sao Paolo” that takes this cinematic aspect and maximizes it to an exponential degree. The whole thing feels like it could be the perfectly-scripted soundtrack to a classic movie from the 1950’s, somewhere between a Broadway musical, the spiraling, frantic woodwinds of Hitchcock’s classic films and the grandeur of Orson Welles finest work. The song opens on a empty city street at nightfall, as a lonely saxophone wails into the Brazilian moonlight. The camera explores the alleyways and dark corners of this deserted Sao Paolo favela, before we reach a hotel just beyond the edge of the slums and a classically-beautiful American woman in a stunning red dress steps out of a limousine and walks the red carpet into a bustling gala, as the piano enters the mix and gets the song on its way. I won’t script the whole thing (because, y’know, that would be the lamest thing I’ve ever done), but it’s easy enough to envision your own story for yourself as the song unfolds. Furthermore, “Sao Paolo” is a shining example of Fyfe Dangerfield’s FUCKING SUPERHUMAN vocal abilities. Seriously, I didn’t even know pipes like that existed. That “Thrown across water” chorus (I guess it’s the chorus?) is one of my favorite moments in music this year, as Fyfe belts out the lyrics over that Hollywood-as-shit strings arrangement and soaring brass. That impromptu latin jam session, which nods to the songs title and guitarist Lord Mangrao’s Brazilian heritage, can’t hurt it either, and the whole song is just a masterpiece of musical ingenuity and avant-garde pop experimentalism.

MP3: “Majesty Snowbird” - Sufjan Stevens

This last one is a bit of an epic as well, but it’s mainly cut from the Top Tracks list due to the slight issue that it hasn’t formally been released yet and has only been available as a live recording to this point. But there’s no way I can not mention it as one of the year’s finest songwriting achievements, as Sufjan worked audiences into a frenzy performing this song on his most recent tour, which was described nearly-unanimously by those who saw it as absolutely life-changing. Almost rivaling “Sao Paolo” in it’s cinematic scope and unadultered grandeur, “Majesty Snowbird” is perhaps Sufjan’s greatest achievement to date, and it’s an incredibly beautiful work of art. The strings soar like they’ve never soared before, ditto for the brass, and Suf’s ethereal wail sounds flawless, despite the non-studio live recording of the song. And when that guitar solo roars out of nowhere? I mean, fuckkkk. If you somehow missed this when it took over the blogs a month or two ago be sure to get on it now (this is also the best recording I’ve heard of it yet, if you’ve got an frustratingly lower-quality version and are looking to upgrade), as it may well prove to be the best song of 2007 when it’s presumably released next year.

Look out for my Top 25 (or maybe it’ll just be 15) Remixes of 2006 list in the next few days and then my behemoth Top Tracks list in the first week of January. I’m aware that everyone else got their year-end lists out there long ago, so I feel a bit behind-the-ball at times, but is it really so wrong to wait until the year has ended before you declare its best tracks? Hopefully you can bear with me and will enjoy the fruits of my labor when they come to light in the first week or so of January. For now, just stay tuned.

[front cover art adapted from the work of Jasper Goodall]

Here it is, the second installment of M3 Volume 12. Yes, it’s a day or two late, but it’s Christmas; I got shit to do. It’s not like anyone else is blogging anyway. On that note, I hope that everyone had a lovely Christmas and got what they wanted - I personally scored pretty big with a bundle of gift vouchers to Rough Trade (schwing!) - and that you all were able to enjoy your break as much as possible.

So yes, consider this a belated Christmas gift and the perfect mix to keep your feet moving well into the new year. Whereas disc one was all about dark, brooding guitar-pop tracks, this mix has a similar vibe but opts for electronic hotness over that of the organic variety. It’s got a definite party vibe though, in fact it’s probably the closest thing to a party mix I’ve posted here since the M3 Dance Dance Edition days. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that I’m busy planning the most ridiculous New Year’s party the modern world has ever seen, or maybe it’s just because the ridiculous amount of partying I’ve been doing since coming home for winter break is beginning to manifest itself in my music choices. Who knows. Anyway, it’s shit-hot and you’re going to need this if you’re trying to do it up right this New Year’s Eve.

Onto the tracklist then, where Mancunian electro-duo the Whip get this shit off to an absolutely bangin’ start with their incredible debut single, “Trash”, followed closely by what is possibly the illest track of the year, Epic Man’s “More Is Enough”, which features Plan B spitting his verses over Paul Epworth’s clinically-insane beat. Next up is Ed Banger superstar SebastiAn with his greatest track to date, the completely out of control “Ross Ross Ross”, which flies along at a frantic pace, chopping and screwing frenzied samples along the way and proving itself to be one of the greatest electronic singles of 2006. Newcomers Does It Offend You, Yeah? keep things going with their hit-in-the-making, “We Are Rockstars”, featuring that fantastic vocoded chorus and an assload of other synthetic hotness, followed by motherfucking Daft Punk’s “Crescendolls” because let’s be honest, no party mix is complete without a little Punk of the Daft variety. Continuing the French electro-hotness is 25 Hours A Day’s awesome remix of Phoenix’s “Long Distance Call”, one of the year’s stellar remixes that smacks of a distinct Discovery-era Daft Punk influence and actually manages to upgrade Phoenix’s excellent original mix. Vocalist Simon Lord (formerly of Simian fame) makes his first of two appearances on the mix up next on “Face”, the debut single for his new band, The Black Ghosts, which is followed by Klaxons’ incredible upcoming single “Golden Skans”, which is sure to make a dent in the UK charts when it sees it’s proper release next month.

The ooh-ooh-oohs of “Golden Skans” give way to Metronomy’s INCREDIBLE remix of Dead Disco’s “The Treatment”, which is one of two of his remixes vying for my Remix of the Year award along with his incredible revamping of Klaxons’ “Atlantis To Interzone”, the same track that ultimately brings a close to this 15-track slab of hot fire. The Knife drop by to say hi with “We Share Our Mother’s Health”, the ultimate accomplishment of their career so far and one of the elite electronic singles of ‘06 (*cough* top 25 tracks of 2006 *cough*), and Australia’s Midnight Juggernauts keep the international flavor alive, following that Knife ish with some vocoded electro-hotness of their own in “Tombstone” and giving a nod to Daft Punk’s “Technologic” along the way. Next is up is a couplet of electronic tracks showing off a pop sensibility not found on the rest of the mix, Patrick Wolf’s brilliant new single “Accident & Emergency” and Christian Falk’s incredible “Dream On”, which features Robyn stealing the show on vocals. Simon Lord makes his second appearance on the mix, reuniting with fellow ex-Simian-ers (hyphenfest!) Jas Shaw and James Ford on SMD’s most accessible track to date, “I Believe”, before James Mount (aka Metronomy aka the greatest remix artist in the world) rounds things off in flawless fashion with what is possibly the highlight of his entire career (remixing and otherwise), his reinvention of Klaxons’ “Atlantis To Interzone”.

Merry Christmas and shit.

High Resolution Artwork: [Front Cover] [Back Cover]

DOWNLOAD: M3 Volume 12 (Disc Two) [follow link]

M3 Volume 12 [Disc Two]:
1. “Trash” - The Whip
2. “More Is Enough” (ft. Plan B) - Epic Man
3. “Ross Ross Ross” - SebastiAn
4. “We Are Rockstars” - Does It Offend You, Yeah?
5. “Crescendolls” - Daft Punk
6. “Long Distance Call” (25 Hours A Day Mix) - Phoenix
7. “Face” - The Black Ghosts
8. “Golden Skans” - Klaxons
9. “The Treatment” (Metronomy Remix) - Dead Disco
10. “We Share Our Mother’s Health” (Radio Edit) - The Knife
11. “Tombstone” - Midnight Juggernauts
12. “Accident & Emergency” - Patrick Wolf
13. “Dream On” (ft. Robyn & Ola Salo) - Christian Falk
14. “I Believe” - Simian Mobile Disco
15. “Atlantis To Interzone” (Metronomy Remix) - Klaxons

Oh and hey, MERRY FUCKING CHRISTMAS: THERE’S A NEW ARCADE FIRE SONG. And it’s not “Intervention”. Check it: “Intervention” is supposed to be released as a charity single tomorrow on iTunes, with all proceeds going to the extremely worthy Partners In Health organization. However, someone at Merge fucked up big and not only posted it two days early, but they posted the wrong song. But if it’s not the most epic, beautiful-sounding mistake I’ve ever heard then I don’t know what is. “Black Wave/Bad Vibrations”, as it’s called, is an absolute epoch of darkness and emotional intensity. The band said the new album sounded like “standing by an ocean at night”, but in this case they’re screaming at the ocean at night and the lyrics and feeling of the song get at a hopeless futility as pointless as the act itself. Shane over at The Torture Garden nailed his description in one sentence, furthering the ocean motif saying, “the first half is a lighthouse, the second half is all panic”. Regine opens the song with a beautiful verse over swirling strings and a driving percussion section, but it’s Win’s verse in the second half that serves as a resounding reminder that Arcade Fire are still the greatest band in the entire world. The final refrain is unbelievable; possibly my favorite lyrics of the year: “Stop now before it’s too late/we’re eating in the ghetto on a hundred dollar plate/Nothing lasts forever that’s the way it’s gotta be/there’s a big black wave in the middle of the sea”. AMAZING. Anyway, I’m not going to post it (but trust me, I’m dying too) because it’s for charity and I don’t know, that doesn’t really feel right. BUT, you can still go to iTunes and get it (it’s labeled “Intervention” though, and the album is listed as Intervention - Single), which you should do like NOW before it’s blocked. The song link below will take you directly to the iTunes page where you can download it. And be sure to check back there tomorrow when “Intervention” is officially released and we finally get to her the proper, non-radio rip recording.

iTunes: “Black Wave/Bad Vibrations” - Arcade Fire [follow link]

And the image below is taken from the CD-single artwork for “Intervention”. Beautiful. I’ve cropped it down to a smaller size and cropped off the top and bottom, but you can see an organ looms ominously in the background just as large as it is in the song. The radio rip of “Intervention” is available below as well.

MP3: “Intervention” (BBC Radio Rip) - Arcade Fire ((highly recommended))

You. Are. Not. Ready. Out of nowhere, M3 Volume 12 comin’ at you in not one, but TWO 15-track parts. Awh yeah.

[front cover art adapted from the work of Jasper Goodall]

You may have gathered by now that I take my end-of-the-year lists very seriously, and thus spend a lot of time on them. And while I’d like to think the final products are well worth it, it does mean that our typically daily posts turn into more weekly or bi-weekly affairs. I’m sure some of you guys are bummed by this development, but fear not! Salvation has arrived in the form of two (count them, two) 15-track installments of M3 Volume 12. I’ve had the first disc of M3 Volume 12 done for a while now, and just finished the second disc yesterday, so I figure rather than make you all wait until the New Year to enjoy this hot fire, why not thrust it upon you now. Y’know, in the the spirit of Christmas and whatnot. On a related note, this means that there will unfortunately not be a Christmas M3 mix this year, but yeah - you’ll just have to deal with that. Sorry.

But onto the mix itself. Below you’ll find the first disc of the two-disc set, with disc two following by week’s end. This whole two-disc idea came about as a result of the fact that I actually had over thirty song candidates for this mix and after whittling it down to 15 I still had enough great tracks to make an entire extra CD. Thus, M3 Volume 12 comes to you in a two-CD set, with the first disc revolving more around dark guitar rock tracks and the second disc focusing more intently on dark pop songs and electronica tracks.

Bloc Party sets the mood for the mix (which they appear on twice) from the very first track with “Like Eating Glass”, the best track off Silent Alarm never to see release as a single, which is followed by Editors’ “Munich”, a perfect transition considering (let’s be honest) Editors are basically just the vocals of Interpol with the instrumentation and energy of Bloc Party. The Stills are up next with “Still In Love Song”, the perfect dark pop song for the waning light of autumn and winter, and Director follow with a song that matches The Stills’ track in sentiment, pace, mood and well, everything, making for another smooth transition. Somehow I’ve gone this long without posting any of the new Erol Alkan-produced Long Blondes b-sides that appeared on the recent “Once & Never Again” CD and 7″-singles, but that’s finally been rectified with the synthtacular “Five Ways To End It” rounding out the mix’s first third. Next up are the KBC, one of the UK’s most hotly-tipped acts for ‘07, with a dark, brooding, reverb-drenched track about books and packets of herbal tea (or something), followed by one of the mix’s elite tracks at number seven. “On Fire”, by the Neon Plastix, is one of the more obscure tracks here, but it’s also one of the absolute best, as it’s an action -packed sprint of pure danceability from start to finish. Seriously, there’s like 16 different choruses in this song, and they all keep bombarding you one after another. And don’t even get me started on that danceable, piano-backed bridge section towards the song’s end; Jesus…

The second half of the mix gets started with Tokyo Police Club’s “Nature of the Experiment”, a track that’s been generating a lot of hype around the blogs and for damn good reason. Much lesser-known Bloc Party copyists (too harsh?) Battle represent next with their addictively-catchy “Demons”, and Fury of the Headteachers follow in grand form with their 1000% bad-ass single, “Farewell Comrade”. For those of you who missed it when I posted it as an exclusive during our one-year anniversary celebration, the other individual highlight of the mix has to be the Paul Epworth-produced version of Bloc Party’s “The Marshals Are Dead”. Curiously cut from Silent Alarm (though a far inferior un-Epworth’d version can be found on the band’s eponymous debut EP), the track is one of Bloc Party’s absolute best, with Epworth’s magic touch breathing new life into Matt’s militaristic drumming and Russell’s fractured, disjointed guitar solos. A hard act to follow, yes, but Thunderbirds Are Now! do a damn fine job with “To: Skulls”, the best track off of their acclaimed debut LP (Justamustache) of three years ago. Next up of Britain’s finest recent exports in the dance-rock market, with the girl-pop guitar-rock of Dead Disco’s “Automatic” giving way to the over-the-top nu-rave excess of Klaxons most recent single, “Magick”. And rounding things off is one of the year’s most mind-numbingly awesome tracks, “Waters of Nazareth”, on which Justice threaten to smother the listener in glitched-out synth lines and absolutely massive bass portions. Make it through alive and you’ll just want to do it over and over again, kind of like skydiving or copulating with Zack Friendly (errrrrr), and at the least you’ll have worked up a good thirst for the second installment (coming tomorrow or the next day).

Long story short: it’s great; get on it.

High Resolution Artwork: [Front Cover] [Back Cover]

Download: M3 Volume 12 (Disc One) [follow link]

M3 Volume 12 (Disc One):
1. “Like Eating Glass” - Bloc Party
2. “Munich” - Editors
3. “Still In Love Song” - The Stills
4. “Reconnect” - Director
5. “Five Ways To End It” - The Long Blondes
6. “Poisonous Emblem” - The KBC
7. “On Fire” - Neon Plastix
8. “Nature of the Experiment” - Tokyo Police Club
9. “Demons” - Battle
10. “Farewell Comrade” - Fury of the Headteachers
11. “The Marshals Are Dead” (Paul Epworth LP Version) - Bloc Party
12. “Automatic” - Dead Disco
13. “To: Skulls” - Thunderbirds Are Now!
14. “Magick” - Klaxons
15. “Waters of Nazareth” - Justice

And speaking of Justice, a new song has recently surfaced on the Institubes/Ed Banger-commissioned Alors Les Filles, On Fete Noel? compilation, and it’s got me practically foaming at the mouth in anticipation of the duo’s 2007 debut LP. The album, which remains untitled at this point, is slated for a Spring ‘07 (April-ish) release on Ed Banger in France and VICE Recs in the US, and it’s all but guaranteed to be the most bangarang thing you’ve ever heard. Taste it below.

MP3: “Phantom” - Justice

MP3: “Moving To New York” - The Wombats

So here’s a fairly big announcement; it’s been in the works for a while, but I’ve refrained from mentioning it here so as not to jinx it before it was official. However, I received official notice on Wednesday, so here goes. As of 3 PM last Friday I am no longer enrolled as a student at the University of Virginia, and I will be continuing my education as a transfer student at New York University next month. Those of you who know me personally (and probably a few of you more discerning readers) are well aware that I was less than thrilled at UVA, and for those of you who don’t I won’t go into it too much, but it basically came down to the fact that UVA’s journalism program paled drastically in comparison to that of NYU and to put it bluntly, I needed to get the fuck out of Charlottesville and into a more urban environment. Don’t get me wrong - Charlottesville’s a great town, but having been born in London, raised in DC and spent the last summer in New York City, the college town environment just wasn’t doing it for me anymore. And, I mean, don’t even get me started on the social scene (but really, it’s impossible not to, so here I go).

I loved my first semester at UVA, but once Greek Life started in second semester and it became clear that the social scene revolved exclusively around frat-based events (and absolutely nothing else), things started to go downhill real fast. Furthermore, the lack of diversity is ridiculous. I met some really great people there and it sucks to have to leave my friends, but the active social atmosphere is comprised dominantly of white Anglo Christians conforming to a similar upper middle-class fashion code (read: preppy as shit) and subscribing to the same system of fraternity and sorority-based beliefs. And yeah, to attend a university where one’s status is so heavily determined by the fraternity or sorority they are in and their ability to conform to a uniform social code is not exactly a situation I enjoyed consistently finding myself in. I’m psyched to now have the opportunity to go to a school where one’s treatment is not determined by the acceptability of their response to the omnipresent “What frat are you in?” query; I’m over all this frarority shit. But yeah, now I’m just ranting.

ANYWAY, this means big things for the site as well, as I’m technically going to be becoming another one of those NYC bloggers that already dominate this here internet. It should be good though, as I’ll get to see a shit-ton more shows and be exposed to a lot of new bands I might otherwise never have come across. Plus, for my field of interest (journalism and/or music business), there really is no better place for me to be than the City; I hear the music scene is a little bit more vibrant than that of Charlottesville, Virginia. All in all, I’m fucking thrilled; there isn’t that much more to say.

As for the next month on GWFAS, we’ve shifted into end-of-the-year mode, and Everett (yes, he’s still alive) and I are preparing our massive Best Of 2006 lists for your consumption in the near-to-immediate future. We’ve got our annual Top Remixes list, our Top 50 Songs list and everyone’s favorite, our Top 50 Music Videos list, which was such a ridiculously-huge success last year we’d be borderline retarded not to do it again. However, this generally means less frequent posting (say goodbye to daily updates), but when we do post I can assure you they will be packed with content and chock-full of downloadable hotness, just you wait. Not sure if we’ll have any more artist profile/single review-type updates in the meantime; I’ll probably just end up tacking on some random odds, ends and mp3s onto the bottom of whatever the day’s post is so you guys don’t fall out of the loop on what’s hot in the mp3-world at any given moment. Actually, I think I’ll do that right now:

HOLY SHIT: NEW ARCADE FIRE SONG
Yeah, it’s only a radio-rip and yeah, it’s absolutely everywhere by now, but it’s too good for me not to post here anyway. Apparently the small group of people who have heard the album (in highly-secured listening sessions with band officials standing by, mind you) have said it’s fucking amazing (read: better than Funeral); dial 1-866-NEON-BIBLE for more info (seriously). And if Neon Bible really is the album title, as is suspected, then it’s hands-down one of the most awesome album names I’ve ever heard. Just sayin’.

MP3: “Intervention” (BBC Radio Rip) - Arcade Fire ((highly recommended))

OH HEY, IT’S A NEW SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO SINGLE
Simian Mobile Disco are the most exciting thing to happen to the UK electronica scene in a long time, and they’re preparing a new single, “Hot Dog”, for release next month. Naturally, it’s already making its rounds on the internet (along with another similar-sounding track, “It’s The Beat”), so get on that below. It’s no “Hustler”, or even “Tits & Acid” for that matter, but it’s still the SMD and it’s still getting me very excited to hear what they serve up on their as-yet-untitled debut LP next year.

MP3: “Hot Dog” - Simian Mobile Disco
THIS IS SO FUCKING GOOD AS WELL
To round things off, here’s the most fun song of the last 2,000 years. Seriously, I didn’t think it was even legal for unsigned bands to write songs this good. It’s like the perfect indie-pop equivalent of “Hey Ya” (I’d like someone to agree with me here, please holla back in the comments), and while I didn’t really think I needed an indie-pop version of “Hey Ya”, I apparently couldn’t have been more wrong. This is fucking GREAT. Ooh, ooh-waaa.

MP3: “All The Rage” - The Royal We ((highly recommended))

That’s all for now - check back with us soon for some massive year-in-review coverage replete with an unbelievable amount of mp3 goodness.

It seems nigh impossible that the union of a simplistic, looping mandolin progression and catchy falsetto’d vocals could yield one of the absolute best songs of the year, but fuck if that isn’t exactly what’s happened here with the Spinto Band’s “Oh Mandy”. Originally released in 2005 on the band’s Nice And Nicely Done LP and criminally slept on by yours truly, it was released as a single in the UK on indie label Stolen Transmission last July, promptly thrusting itself into the forefront of my consciousness and opening my eyes to its brilliance. Subsequently, “Oh Mandy” was met with widespread critical acclaim and the Spinto Band have seen their popularity in the UK eclipse their US success in only a matter of months.

Back to the song, though, which remains one of the essential tracks of the last two years despite (or possibly because of) the fact that there’s nothing even remotely “now” about it. There’s a surprising intensity about it as well - lead singer Nick Krill’s vocals are bursting at the seams with emotion as he races to get each verse out before drummer Jeff Hobson delivers the decisive cymbal crash that punctuates each line. The mandolicious (sorry) verses continue to snowball in intensity until Krill belts out his climactic “so I can finally hear you scream!” lyric and that relentlessly addictive “Oh Mandy” refrain comes around again, announced by a sprightly keyboard outburst, and takes everything to new heights. The song continues like this, with those pristine mandolin riffs and those candy-coated keyboard flourishes, flooding your aural pleasure centers and ceaselessly justifying itself as one of the best tracks of the year.

MP3s:
“Oh Mandy” - The Spinto Band ((highly recommended))
“Karen + Mandy” (Remix by Mark Eklund + Ollie Tamale) - The Spinto Band

While the remix above, one of the single’s official B-sides, offers an interesting, if unremarkable, reworking of the original, the best “Mandy”-related remix has to come courtesy of DJ Sunderland. DJ Sunderland takes the aforementioned two best parts of the song - the mandolin riff and those falsetto verses - and transposes them over the (super)massive beat of Muse’s “Supermassive Black Hole”, making for an improbable but altogether awesome mash up.

Bonus MP3: “Supermassive Mandy” (The Spinto Band vs. Muse) - DJ Sunderland

Finally, it doesn’t hurt that this song has one of the year’s best music videos behind it; keep an eye out for it on my upcoming Top 50 Videos of 2006 list (there it’s official - coming soon).

PREFACE: So I’ve had a few days to get my shit together and I successfully drove a car today (and remained earthbound the whole time!), so I figure it’s time to get things back up and running around here. Onwards and upwards then, and what better place to start than with my favorite band to come out of the UK since Guillemots (and yes, I know I’ve been giving that tag out a lot recently, but I promise I really mean it this time).

The Wombats have seized my very mind. Seriously, I absolutely cannot get enough of them. Falling somewhere on the spectrum between the accessible riffs and addictive hooks of We Are Scientists, the harmonizing prowess of the Futureheads (their album’s even got a closing a capella track) and blissful, indie-pop perfection, the Wombats write fun pop songs about cars, weddings, strippers and Sunday night TV (among other things). While the We Are Scientists comparison is a direct product of their guitar-rock trio status and the sheer immediacy of their songs, the bands have also followed similar career paths, releasing a flurry of self-released EP’s before dropping excellent (if a bit top heavy) debut LP’s. In the case of the Wombats, however, said debut LP is a 12-track stunner, though it’s been released by the band not as an official album, but as a mini-LP of sorts, the reason being the fact that nearly all of the material on the record has been previously released on either those four aforementioned EP’s or the band’s two recent singles. It was the more recent of those two singles, “Moving To New York”, that Lizzy first sent me last month, hailing it as the best thing ever. And fuck if she hasn’t done it again; sometimes that girl just gets things so right it’s ridiculous. So yes, “Moving To New York” just might be the best thing ever, at least if my iTunes Top 25 Most Played list is any indication, which “New York” has topped after only a month in rotation. Seriously, it’s like “Trains To Brazil” all over again.

Everything (everything) about this song is perfect – from the moment those rolling drums crescendo with a cymbal crash and the song roars to life to the closing seconds with that out-of-nowhere one-second twinkle noise that somehow rounds things out perfectly. That there are so many individual things to like about this song says a lot about the ability of the band’s three members – bassist Tord (The Fox), frontman Dan (The Rat - who also rocks the keys), and drummer Murph (The Dog), all of whom steal the show at one point or another in the song. The Fox’s adventurous bass line establishes its independence from the rest of the song by straying left and right, up and down and all over the map, while managing to remain a cogent part of the greater whole. The Dog breathes life into the track and sets the energetic pace for the entire song with that opening crescendo, while the Rat takes everything to new heights with that brilliant, soaring chorus (my favorite of the year? just maybe). Furthermore, all three contribute vocals on the song, evident in the group’s signature “ooh-ooohs” that underly the chorus, and it’s this three-headed vocal attack that make the Wombats so fucking good at what they do (more on that later, though).

In fact, everything is executed so perfectly on the track that it’s a wonder that it’s only the band’s second formally-released single, and one can’t help but get excited about the bright future the Liverpudlian trio have ahead of them. My only gripe with the track is that the version I fell in love with (which may be the demo – I’m not certain) is not actually the single version, rather the band went with a rougher mix that actually sounds more like a demo than my original version. I really can’t complain – it’s a brilliant song either way – I just prefer the polish of my version to the one found on the single.

While “Moving To New York” is the real show-stopper, it’s debut single “Lost In The Post” best exemplifies what the Wombats are all about. It opens with a hyperactive synth line reminiscent of the New Pornographers on a sugar high, and doesn’t let up until that shouty “signed! sealed! and lost in the post!” chorus hits about a minute in. But it’s neither the hard-hitting chorus nor the candy-coated synth lines that are the main attraction here. Rather, it’s that “Go to silent, go to silent, go go go!” bridge where the rest of the mix dies down to bring the trio’s heavenly three-part harmonies to center stage that seals the deal. And it’s on these three-part harmonies that the group really separate themselves from the rest of the pack. It’s like they’ve unlocked the secret to indie-pop perfection and are just showing it off in every way possible, and their debut mini-LP, Girls, Boys & Marsupials, is only further evidence of this principle in action.

Obsessed with “Moving To New York” before it even finished, I immediately began the search for more material from them, but was able only to turn up “Lost In The Post”. Thirsting for even more, I learned of Girls, Boys & Marsupials and let out a girlish yelp of glee, before discovering that it was released only in Japan and was available on import exclusively through Rough Trade in the UK. Thus, I got creative and convinced Jamie, one of our more awesome UK readers, to keep an eye out for it next time he was in the vicinity of one of the Rough Trade shops (and by “I convinced” I really mean, ” I sent him ‘Moving To New York’ and let it do the convincing for me”, which didn’t take long at all). He came through for us, and thus we have him to thank for this next track, which further shows off those killer back-up vocals at their very best. “Backfire @ The Disco”, as it’s called, revolves around the tried-and-true subject of dating woes, recounting a date that went horribly awry and and “backfire[d] at the disco” after our hero made an ill-conceived remark about his date’s “whorish dress”. It’s a great, if unremarkable, guitar-pop song for the first minute or so, before a lethal dose of “ooh-woo-ooh-ooh-ooh”s comes out of nowhere to smack you in the face harder than the protagonist’s female adversary herself. This pattern is continued to similar success throughout the rest of the album, and it’s one of the absolute best debuts in a year thats seen a lot of great, young UK bands fighting for the spotlight. It’s hard to imagine the Wombats not coming out on top - or at least doing some serious chart damage - in the new year though, as they’ve got their eyes on the prize and a flawless recipe for indie-pop success in their collective back pocket. Color me un-fucking-believably excited for their debut LP proper in 2007 and enjoy the mp3s below if you know whats good for you.

MP3s:
“Moving To New York” - The Wombats ((highly recommended))
“Lost In The Post” - The Wombats
“Backfire @ The Disco” - The Wombats

Yeah, I know I’m long overdue for my Christmas compilation this year, but it just seems a bit played out with every blog posting a reshuffling of the same few songs every year. Thus, I can’t really make any promises that 2006 will see a Christmas M3 come to light, but here’s an adorable little Christmas gem from the Boy Least Likely To. Seriously, just try to keep from tickling it’s stomach, it’s that cute.

MP3: “Little Donkey” - The Boy Least Likely To

Pimp my ride?

Yeah anyways, live blogging seems to be in these days, so here’s what I would’ve typed had I been live blogging my drive from UVA back to DC last night (all times approximate EST).

7:45:00 PM: Finish my last exam; all pumped about life and shit.

9:00:00 PM: Depart from UVA in The Chariot (my Amethyst ‘97 Jeep Grand Cherokee) to return to Washington, DC. Enter onto Rt. 29 North.

9:07:00 PM: Pop in that new Brand New record, remember how way good it is.

9:10:00 PM: Decide I really should have gone to the bathroom before I left. Attempt to concentrate on how badly I don’t have to pee. Resign myself to stopping at the next gas station.

9:13:00 PM: Oh, hell naw - tell me that elk-lookin’ shithead is not trying to run into my car.

9:13:01 PM: Swerve left.

9:13:02 PM: Overcompensate and swerve back right to narrowly avoid massive tree trunk as aforementioned deer plows into rear right side of The Chariot. Realize that deer are the 18-wheelers of the woodland creature world.

9:13:03 PM: Careen across two lanes of traffic and brace for impact with increasingly menacing guard rail.

9:13:04 PM: *IMPACT*

9:13:05 PM: Try to ascertain my whereabouts… surprised that they play “Degausser” in purgatory.

9:13:06 PM: Still trying to orient myself… Do I get another impact or what?

9:13:07 PM: *IMPACT* (”Degausser” stops. Apparently Pioneer’s anti-skip CD stereo technology can’t withstand sweet vehicular aerial acrobatics. Pussies.)

9:13:08 PM: Oh, hey solid ground, long time no see. That’s an aggressive handshake you’ve got there!

9:13:09 PM: What’s this? We’re rolling now?

9:13:10 PM: Seriously… this still isn’t over?

9:13:11 PM: Come on, now…

9:13:12 PM: Realize the car has come to rest. Realize I am trapped in my seatbelt. Realize I am upside down.

9:13:13 PM: Recall from my days as an early teenager spent playing Grand Theft Auto that all automobiles can only last 15 seconds upside down before spontaneously bursting into flames.

9:13:14 PM: FREAK THE FUCK OUT.

9:13:17 PM: Come to the realization that I probably have longer than that in real life. Continue to freak out anyway.

9:13:30 PM: Manage to force the seat into its reclined position by repeatedly kicking the dashboard. Realize that still only gives me about an inch of space to work with.

9:14:00 PM: Finally manage to rip seat belt from its holster after summoning strength I definitely don’t actually have.

9:14:01 PM: Remember that the car came to rest on a downward slope with the nose facing uphill. Fall into pile of shattered glass in the back seat.

9:14:02 PM: Psyched to find that while pile of shattered glass most immediately translates to “pain”, it can also mean “open window” or even “escape route” in certain contexts.

9:15:00 PM: Reach the top of the ravine. Greet concerned elderly motorist who witnessed the whole thing.

9:18:00 PM: Finally convince concerned elderly motorist that “No, I’m really not hurt”, despite him constantly assuring me that “There is no possible way [I am] not seriously injured”. Decide that his claim that he saw my car launch “at least 15 feet” into the air in an airborne cartwheel after hitting the guardrail is the product of him being old, easily excitable and prone to exaggeration.

9:19:00 PM: Chillax with concerned elderly motorist and his honey in his pimp-ass Senile Grey (y’know, the color of every old person’s car) Buick.

9:21:00 PM: Greet concerned paramedics, firemen and police officers.

9:30:00 PM: Finally convince concerned paramedics that “No, I’m really not hurt”, despite their insistence on the contrary. Resist their advice that I let them take me to the hospital immediately.

9:33:00 PM: Realize how ridiculous I’m being. Allow myself to be taken to the hospital, despite my displeasure at finding out that “Please let us take you to the hospital” is really just paramedicspeak for “Suck it up while we strap you to a backboard, stick needles in your arms and steal your socks” (No seriously, where my socks at?)

9:45:00 PM: Begin and conclude conversation with the two paramedics: “So, you guys are brothers?” “Yeah.” “…Cool”

10:03:00 PM: Arrive at Hospital. Get reception on cell phone. Call mother, father, Lizzy.

10:30:00 PM: Chastised by nurses for using cell phone in hospital. Think better of retorting with a brusque, “Notifying loved ones, yo”. Informed that I will not be treated until I am off the phone.

10:31:00 PM: Oh shiiiiiit, I still have to pee.

10:32:00 PM: What? I can’t use the bathroom until I’m removed from the backboard? I can’t be removed from the backboard until I’m treated? I passed up my window for treatment when I called my loved ones? I just have to wait?

10:35:00 PM: Fuckkkkkkkk.

10:40:00 PM: Seriously, this is ridiculous.

10:45:00 PM: Receive news from the Sheriff covering the accident (who courteously stopped by the hospital to see how I was doing) that the firemen surveying the tree/branch damage at the scene approximated the highest branch hit by my car to be “at least 21 feet”, validating the original claim of the concerned elderly motorist.

10:50:00 PM: Refocus concentration on the increasing anguish betwixt my loins, which is causing me more pain than the entire crash itself at this point.

11:05:00 PM: Seriously, I might cry.

11:15:00 PM: Treatment (i.e. they touched a spot on my back for a second and declared me good to go)

11:20:00 PM: RESTROOM SALVATION.

11:22:00 PM: Yeah I’m still going.

11:25:00 PM: No, it’s cool, I might be a while - I’ll catch up with you guys later.

11:27:00 PM: *zzzzip*

11:30:00 PM: Wait for futher instructions from antogonizing nurses.

12:30:00 AM: Hold on - did I seriously just wait an hour for you to give me two pills? Oh… I can go now? I rescind all complaints.

12:40:00 AM: Receive discharge.

1:00:00 AM - : Call people important to me and relate story countless times, each time with more and more exaggerated details. (”No dude, it was at least a moose”; “Seriously man, I nailed a 1080 in The Chariot… yeah, totally on purpose”; “Yeah, I thought I was done for but Kele from Bloc Party appeared before me and told me to keep fighting, so I fucking did!”, etc.)

In conclusion, yes, I know I’m way lucky to be alive and yes, I know that I’m making light of this even though every paramedic on the scene told me I should probably be dead. I’d just rather not dwell on those things though, instead let’s just focus on HOW FUCKING RIDICULOUS that entire series of events was. C’mon, by the “at least 15 feet in the air” part you have to admit it was getting downright comical (still completely true, however). Fuck, Hollywood doesn’t even dream of crashes like that.

But for those of you who’d experienced (read: been a passenger in) The Chariot before there was surely only one question on your mind: WHAT ABOUT GARY? Well good news, all - Gary is alive and well. He’s better than ever in fact; you gotta love that little guy’s resilient spirit.

Oh, and a final note: I visited my car today in the junkyard (hence the pictures) and realized the airbags didn’t deploy. They would have been nice to have around when I took that 15-foot nosedive into the ground, definitely. Any of you legal types out there know if I can get compensation for this endangerment to my life? Hook it up in the comments.

Thinking back to the 1960’s (or in my case, thinking back to the early 90’s when all I listened to was the oldies I was subjected to by my parents in the car), one remembers the perkiness and bounce of American girl-pop bands like The Ronettes and The Crystals (for the purpose of this post, let’s get specific and keep “Be My Baby” and “My Boyfriend’s Back” in mind for reference points). However, fifty years later it’s an electronic-based duo whose sound best harkens back to the days of sock hops, drive-in movies and soda jerks (alright, The Pipettes do this pretty fucking well too but just go with it). In essence, Johhny Boy takes everything that made 50’s girl pop great and spiffs it up with modern bells and whistles, a slickly-produced glossy finish, some blissful boy-girl harmonies and a nice dose of Brit Pop thrown in there for good measure (the latter of which is no doubt at least partially attributable to Manic Street Preachers’ James Dean Bradfield’s production work on the album).

Johnny Boy first stormed onto the scene seemingly out of nowhere in February 2003 with their incredible debut single, “You Are The Generation That Bought More Shoes And You Get What You Deserve”, which proved to be as immaculate as it is lengthily-titled and even garnered the #94 spot on Pitchfork’s Top 100 Singles of 2000-2005 list, and it was said list that brought the track to my attention two years ago. An impossibly catchy fusion of soaring firework synths, church bells, those “Be My Baby” drums and dangerously anthemic choruses, “Generation”, managed to sound like nothing before it despite it’s fundamentally-derivative aesthetic. The track was re-released by Vertigo in 2004 to even more hyperbolic praise, and Johnny Boy - thought by many to be a flash in the pan and a surefire one-hit wonder - surprised critics with the remarkable quality of their follow-up single, “Johnny Boy Theme”.

“Theme” draws the listener in with a borderline creepy intro sampled from Mean Streets before hitting them with a barrage of percussion that comes in from seemingly every direction at once, overwhelming one’s aural pleasure centers like it ain’t no thing. Vocalist Lolly Hayes’ sugary vocals and precious delivery are remarkably endearing, and Hayes and band mate Davo share guitar duties as well as loop supervision, making for an extremely busy sound on most of their tracks despite their limited as a band. All this adds up to a decidedly-futuristic sound that somehow remains wholly retrospective at the same time, a unique blend of influences coming together to create a surprisingly cohesive whole. I could go on all day trying to peg Johnny Boy’s sound, but the band does a pretty good job describing it themselves, as “Church bells, boy-girl vocals, loops, twists, warps, walls of sound and edgy guitars combined to rekindle the idea of Sandista-era Clash having an, erm, shootout with Phil Spector”, an it’s exactly that Spector-tastic “wall of sound” effect that takes “Generation” and “Theme” to the next level as incredible singles. While their debut LP, which finally saw the light of day this past Spring, failed to live up to the ridiculously high standard set by the two initial singles, it’s still a great record and indicates that the duo have a bright future ahead of them.

MP3:
“You Are The Generation…” - Johnny Boy ((HIGHLY recommended))
“Johnny Boy Theme” - Johnny Boy ((highly recommended))

The most awesome thing about Johnny Boy? The fact that they have such a mastery of their sound that they can take their two greatest accomplishments as a band, completely remix and reinvent them, and still have them succeed on every level. Where the fuck did I get these? I really have no idea, but I can’t find them anywhere else, so think of this as an exclusive of sorts, even though I’m not going to formally tout it as such. Impressively, both remixes are really quite incredible and rival the originals to the point that they almost surpass them; either way they’re still highly recommended and you’d be wise to download them here as I’ve no idea where else these are available. If anyone can shed any insight on the source of these remixes or confirm that these are indeed self-remixes (I can’t see how they’re not though) I’ll be immensely grateful; let me know in the comments.

Bonus MP3s:
“Generation…” (Consumerismo Mix) - Johnny Boy ((highly recommended))
“Johnny Boy Theme (Dub Mix)” - Johnny Boy ((highly recommended))

Aw, fuck no. I wrote up this entire review and then went to run a quick fact-check on one of the statements I made regarding the Fray and their MySpace page fucking crashed my internet and took my unsaved review with it. As if I needed another reason to hate the Fray.

Anyway, here’s the gist of it. With “Never Even Told Me Her Name”, Air Traffic have written a great (and I mean GREAT) piano-based pop song. Their contract with EMI has them primed for mainstream dominance in the UK and “Never Even Told Me Her Name” is a great first step towards fulfilling that destiny. I love it, I love them - great single, that’s the bottom line. However, Air Traffic are not a “cool” band by any stretch of the word and there’s a definite chance that this time next year we won’t be able to stand them. Furthermore, Snow Patrol has paved the way for another British rock group to experience chart success in the US right now and the Fray have the public primed to eat up the next catchy, piano-based rock group to down the pipeline, so the current climate of the US market indicates vast crossover potential for Air Traffic as well. Whether things pan out like that or not we’ll have to wait and see, but “Shooting Star” indicates Air Traffic to be heading in that Fray-tastic direction sooner rather than later.

“Shooting Star” is only included on the EP-single in demo form, but I can easily see the finished product sitting atop the UK Top 40 for weeks at a time and being the catalyst for the band’s introduction into the US market. “Shooting Star” is not a bad song at all - no one can deny it’s addictiveness and its easily the most epic and ambitious song Air Traffic have ever penned - it’s just that all of its elements add up to create a song that could do some serious damage on the charts, so it’s like I’m already forming a defensive reaction to its impending omnipresence. Personally, I can hear shades of the Fray and even - *gasp* - Something Corporate here, and that anthemic chorus has me downright scared to see what this will do once its released as a single (which I can only assume will happen sometime next year). For the time being, though, we can only wait and revel in the fact that, for now, Air Traffic are writing exciting, incredibly fun piano rock songs better than anyone else out there. Let’s just hope it stays that way.

MP3s:
“Never Even Told Me Her Name” - Air Traffic ((highly recommended))
“Shooting Star” (Demo) - Air Traffic

And while we’re on the topic of kinda-lame UK pop bands, can we talk about how infuriatingly catchy Captain’s “Glorious” is?! It’s killing me to be so addicted to a song by a band whose making their name in England by touring with Keane and then The Feeling, but that candy-coated synth line and that chorus (THAT FUCKING CHORUS) just refuse to extricate themselves from my brain. See if you can fare any better.

MP3: “Glorious” - Captain

UPDATED with a new bonus mp3 at the bottom of the post. It’s good; get on it.

Yeah, it’s finals week again. You know, that time of the semester when I actually have to buckle down and usually end up forgoing sleep for days at a time. Yeah, fun. Anyway, logical thinking would lead you to the conclusion that I would post less during this time, but I end up spending so much time listening to music in front of the computer while I work that I generally end up posting more, most likely because it allows me to take breaks from studying whilst tricking myself into thinking that I’m still being productive. I’ve got my History of Film final tomorrow at 2 PM, a ten-page German film paper due Monday and a six-piece digital art portfolio due the following week, so it’ll be a busy few days for me. Thus, this is just a preface to let you know that you’ll probably be getting a lot of posts in immediate succession today followed by a bit of a lull tomorrow, before things pick back up again on Sunday and Monday. So, without further adieu, I introduce to you my latest UK fixation, GoodBooks.

GoodBooks find themselves consistently tied to an “electronic” tag that’s a bit curious once one actually hears the band’s sound. The members do perform surrounded by a veritable fortress of synthesizers, keyboards and rhythm machines, but their sound remains one firmly rooted in guitar-based pop-rock. There’s also the misnomer that “electronic” means “dance” these days, so GoodBooks’ lack of immediate dancefloor compatibility is sure to throw some off as well. That’s not to say you’ll never hear GoodBooks on the dancefloor, as their electronic leanings and upbeat pop songs have proven to be highly remixable, evidenced by the excellent remixes of “Leni” that fluokids have thrown up over the last few days (here and here).

“Leni” happens to be their newest single, released last month as the title track of a three song EP-single, and it’s their most polished offering yet. While previous single, “Turn It Back”, remains my favorite track by the group to date, there’s a definite lo-fi feeling about it that prevents it from truly maximizing its potential and really affecting the listener. “Leni” avoids that problem, as do the rest of the tracks on that EP, with far more refined production that best makes itself known in the chorus’s fantastic ability to grab your attention as it drops away from the rest of the song trailed by that spiraling synth line. It’s that chorus that truly makes the song, and both of the aforementioned remixes frame it as the center of their respective focuses. “Leni” fails to match this excitement throughout the rest of the song, however, and ultimately suffers as a result. It’s this inconsistency that currently prevents GoodBooks from reaching their true potential, though each of their three singles have all hinted at an elusive excellence that’s yet to be fully realized. Thus, for the time being we must wait to see the direction that GoodBooks will go. “Leni” hints at a more refined, polished sound that suits the band well, but they need to establish a better consistency throughout their tracks and settle on a sound for themselves on which to concentrate their creative energy. As things stand now, GoodBooks find themselves in a tug of war between genres, with accessible vocals and a guitar-pop sensibility fitting of a mainstream hit like the Kooks or Air Traffic clashing with electronic tendencies and an undeniable remixability typically found in a dancier rock act. For now, enjoy “Leni” and their debut single “Walk With Me” below, along with free download-only second single and my favorite of the bunch, “Turn It Back”.

MP3s:
“Leni” - GoodBooks
“Turn It Back” - GoodBooks
“Walk With Me” - GoodBooks

GoodBooks teamed up with Mystery Jets earlier this year to release a special 7″ for the ‘Jets hit single, “You Can’t Fool Me Dennis”, on which the A-side was actually GoodBooks covering the Mystery Jets original. I can’t find this anywhere, so if you’ve got it I’d be forever indebted to you if you’d pass it my way. It’s available in the UK iTunes catalogue, but due to my entrapment within the United States I can do nothing more than to preview the song over and over again, hoping it will somehow wriggle free of iTunes grasp into my open arms. We all know that’s not going to happen though, so if someone out there can hook it up I’d be extremely grateful. Hit me up on AIM (screen name = DerekDavies) or shoot me an email if you’ve got it. And while I’m begging, I might as well see if anyone has an mp3 of Assembly Now’s “It’s Magnetic” out there. I can’t find this one anywhere either (except on UK iTunes of course), and I’ve got the AA-side to the single and the Luke Smith remix of the track, but I’m dying to get my hands on the original. (Thanks Sarah!)

Official reader of the month Sarah hooked me up with that Assembly Now track I asked for, so I might as well pass it on to you. It’s only the demo, but there’s really only a neglible difference between this and the final version as far as I can tell. Assembly Now have that Bloc Party urgency I love and some great lyrics on this track, so check it out.

MP3: “It’s Magnetic” (Apollo Control Demo) - Assembly Now