Hotly Tipped For ‘07: The Bands To Watch (Pt. 3)
Here we are: we’ve finally arrived at the third and final installment in my Hotly Tipped For ‘07 series, albeit a bit belatedly. Below are the third tier of bands, groups that are awesome enough to deserve your attention regardless of whether or not they’ve got any chance of making it big or scoring any chart success. Let’s do this.
Artist: Fear of Flying
Location: London, England
Fear of Flying have me as excited as any new band in the UK right now, and one spin of their remarkable Three’s A Crowd/Forget-Me-Nots 7″, released late last December and, as a result, unceremoniously snubbed from a spot on my Top Tracks of 2006 list (where it would have placed somewhere int he mid-30’s), will show you why. With all the furor and raw, frantic energy of pre-Weekend Bloc Party and monumental choruses to match, “Three’s A Crowd” and “Forget-Me-Nots” fly along at a frenetic pace and don’t let up until the final beat. James has been championing the A-side here since mid-December, and while I really can’t get enough of either track, I’ve got to give the edge to “Forget-Me-Nots”, with all it’s pounding, crashing glory and that massive chorus large enough to topple buildings. Elsewhere, Fear of Flying’s debut single, “Routemaster”, was also released on the vaunted Young & Lost Club imprint and recalls the Futurheads before they, y’know, sucked, what with its herky-jerky guitars and a cappela-esque group vocals. They even borrow a few “Hey! Ho”s from the Ramones for a brilliant pre-chorus before making their real money on another huge chorus that’s curiously anthemic considering they’re, uh, singing about driving buses and stuff (I think). With a sound like this, however, Fear of Flying can sing about whatever the fuck they want and still keep me coming back again and again, and you should be on the lookout for them to do very exciting things in ‘07.
MP3s:
“Forget-Me-Nots” - Fear of Flying ((highly recommended))
“Routemaster” - Fear of Flying
Artist: Sky Larkin
Location: Leeds, England
To be honest, I could easily take the easy way out here and let you know that if you love the Long Blondes, then you’ll probably love Sky Larkin, but that would not only be a bit of a cop out, but it would be doing the band a significant injustice as well. You see, while frontwoman Katie Harkin’s powerful vocals recall the Blondes’ Kate Jackson at her finer moments and first single proper “One of Two” harkens back to the raw, angular guitars of the Long Blondes’ early days, Sky Larkin deserve significant praise in their own right. “One of Two” bounces along with sparring guitar riffs and that hard-hitting “One of two! One OF two!” chorus that’ll get stuck in your head for days on end, helping the single to stand out as a debut worth getting incredible excited about. And while I’d be more than happy to accept more of the same in their future releases, “Keepsakes” shows off another more unique side of the band’s unique sound, as it sees Harkin channeling Karen O over a driving central riff complete with unexpected keyboard bursts and sprightly electronic flourishes, a far cry from the sound established on “One of Two”. Unfortunately, those two tracks are all I really have to go on at this point (though two more solid [if a bit unremarkable] demos are available at their ‘Space), but I’m loving them both to pieces at the moment and can’t wait for exposure to more of their output. If you’re situated across the pond be sure to catch their dates with fellow GWFAS tips Los Campesinos on their current jaunt around the UK on the adorably-titled LoSky CampeLarkinos tour.
MP3s:
“One of Two” - Sky Larkin ((highly recommended))
“Keepsakes” - Sky Larkin
Artist: Pull Tiger Tail
Location: London, England
Bursting onto the scene with an incredible first single, “Animator” (#37 on my Top 50 Tracks of ‘06) on the esteemed Young & Lost Club label last year, Pull Tiger Tail are set to do big things in ‘07 with a newly-signed contract with B-Unique Records. PTT don’t sound terribly unique aside from frontman Marcus Adere’s incredibly strong vocals, yet at the same time their sound can’t really be linked to any exact influences, but there’s hardly time to worry about influences and reference points when a track like “Animator” is relentlessly lodging itself in your brain for you to carry around for weeks on end. The whole thing’s great really, but get to the 50-second mark and you’re staring down one of last year’s most relentlessly addictive choruses and there’s nothing you can do about it. Follow-up download-only single “Mr. 100 Percent” and upcoming single “Let’s Lightning” are both great as well, but it’s the B-side to “Let’s Lightning”, “The Big Sleep”, that is the first time the band has come close to matching the brilliance of “Animator”, and together the two tracks should be enough to get you salivating over the prospect of more material - and maybe even a debut album (no word on that yet) - in 2007.
MP3s:
“Animator” - Pull Tiger Tail ((highly recommended))
“The Big Sleep” (Demo) - Pull Tiger Tail
Artist: Fury of the Headteachers
Location: Sheffield, England
My love for this band is well documented in this space, as their most recent single, “Farewell Comrade”, charted at an incredibly impressive #30 on my Top 50 Tracks of ‘06 list, and my love for them has only grown with my recent acquisition of their debut release, “Fables”. The track opens with a razor-sharp electric guitar riff that zig-zags its way across the face of the song, slicing back-and-forth through the mix like its name was Freddy Krueger. A whirlwind of cacophonous, raucous energy, they’re far and away the best thing fledgling UK imprint Grace Records has to offer to this point, and while I don’t want to get my hopes up too high just yet, they’re upcoming debut LP, You Took A Scythe Home (out April) is sounding mighty promising at this point.
MP3s:
“Farewell Comrade” - Fury of the Headteachers ((highly recommended))
“Fables” - Fury of the Headteachers
Artist: The Whip
Location: Manchester, England
The Whip burst onto scene in 2006 with two bangin’ electronic singles for “Trash” and “Frustration” (the former of which even made it onto the third installment of Kitsune’s esteemed compilation series), and with the pending release of new single “Muzzle No. 1″ they’re set to raise their profile even higher and become one of the preeminent electronic acts in all of Great Britain in 2007. They write molten-hot electronic jams with all the mechanical precision you would expect a band from Manchester to possess and while the New Order comparisons may never go away, The Whip are doing electro-rock better than anyone else in England right now and should have a great year in ‘07.
MP3s:
“Trash” - The Whip ((highly recommended))
“Frustration” - The Whip
Artist: The Black Ghosts
Location: London, England
Remember when I called ex-Simian frontman Simon Lord one of the best and most under appreciated vocalists of our time? Well I really meant that, and fortunately for me and any other like-minded folks out there, he’s back with a new dance act of his own, the Black Ghosts. Unlike Simian, the Black Ghosts forgo electro-soul for straight up electro-rock, though some tracks like “Full Moon” do revert to the stylings of their predecessor. Singles “Face” and “Anyway You Choose To Give” are burners all the way though, as is all of their remix work to date, and their as-yet-untitled debut LP promises to be more of the same. Rejoice.
MP3s:
“Face” - The Black Ghosts
“Anyway You Choose To Give It” - The Black Ghosts
“Muzzle No. 1″ (Black Ghosts Remix) - The Whip
Artist: The Teenagers
Location: London, England/Paris, France
Face it: the Teenager’s are cooler than you will ever be. “Homecoming” is a pretty clear reason why in its own right, but the band have also demonstrated a ridiculous proficiency for remixes in their short time in existence so far as well. Unfortunately, they’ve got very little original material under their belt outside of “Homecoming” so far, so I’ve only really got their remixes to go on at this point, but there’s yet to be a Teenagers production that’s disappointed to this point, which can only mean good things for the band in ‘07.
MP3s:
“Homecoming” - The Teenagers
“Face” (The Teenagers Remix) - The Black Ghosts
Artist: Maps
Location: Northampton, England
Falling somewhere between the atmospheric ambience of Sigur Ros, the cleanly, precise beats and pop sensibility of the Postal Service and the melancholy vocals of electro-pop stalwarts like the Notwist and the Album Leaf, Northampton’s Maps (a.k.a. James Chapman) is one of the UK’s most promising electro-pop acts for the new year. And while I’ve already documented my love for his recent Start Something EP, which compiles the A-and-B-sides of his first two singles plus two new tracks, it’s the news that he’s working with Sigur Ros producer Ken Thomas on his upcoming debut album (out May) that warrants further excitement surrounding Chapman’s rising star. Considering how excellent the tracks on Start Something are already - especially the incredible “Sparks In The Snow” - I can only imagine how they’ll sound once Thomas has had his way with him. As if that wasn’t enough, Maps is also currently working on a remix of Klaxons’ “Gravity’s Rainbow” for release in the near future, which can only be interpreted as awesome news. Consider this your cue to get extremely pumped about Maps in 2007.
MP3s:
“Sparks In The Snow” - Maps ((highly recommended))
“To The Sky” - Maps
Artist: Cut Off Your Hands
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Formerly known as Shaky Hands, the New Zealand rockers changed their name to Cut Off Your Hands (the former title of their debut EP, which is now to be called Shaky Hands - I know, confusing as shit) after encountering resistance from the Portland, Oregon indie-poppers of the same name when they began the search for distribution in the US. Easily New Zealand’s finest export for 2007, they’re ready to break into international awareness after the considerable success of their debut EP in Australia and their home country, attributable to the immense popularity of hit single “You And I”. Recalling the glory days of classic punk rock, the Hands possess a fast and furious sound that’s bursting with a raw, tangible intensity, and while it’s nothing terribly new or groundbreaking, no one’s done it quite this well in a long time. Feel the fury for yourself below.
MP3s:
“You And I” - Cut Off Your Hands
“Expectations” - Cut Off Your Hands
Artist: Emmy The Great
Location: London, England
Having begun to establish herself in 2006 with a sold out debut single on Drowned In Sound Recordings and her contribution of backing vocals to Jeremy Warmsley’s brilliant debut LP, The Art of Fiction, the folk chanteuse is set to steal hearts all over the UK this year. Her contributions to Fiction will not go unrewarded, however, as Warmsley is currently producing her debut album, due out this year. While “Secret Circus”, her aforementioned debut single, was a bit unremarkable in its demo form, Warmsley’s brilliant-as-usual production takes it to new heights in its final version, and her demos are even better. At the forefront of said demos are “Edward Is Deadward” and “Canopies and Grapes”, the latter of which was described to me as “what it sounds like to be a teenage girl in the UK” when it was presented to me, and it’s absolutely adorable, complete with references to the Magnetic Fields, Friends, Woody Allen and even S Club 7. You can grab all three tracks below, but be warned - you just might fall in love with her.
MP3s:
“Secret Circus” - Emmy The Great
“Canopies and Grapes” (Demo) - Emmy The Great ((highly recommended))
“Edward Is Deadward” (Demo) - Emmy The Great
And thus we’ve reached the conclusion of my 2007 preview… just as we reach the conclusion of February, but yeah - I hope you enjoyed it. Things will get back to normal around here now, with updates [almost] daily and single reviews and artist profiles and show reviews and all that good stuff, just like old times.