Domino Records, 2008 Post punk, new funk, even if its old junk, it’s still rock and roll to me. Call it what you want, but history shows that Manhattan’s Liquid Liquid were essentially a dub/groove-based band that while in their short lifespan became incredibly influential on the New York music scene both then and now, [...]
Cooking Vinyl, 2008 Listening to a Camper Van Beethoven CD is like opening a time capsule to an era where the alternative music scene was more of a nascent beast than what it is now, where bands like REM, The Replacements and Husker Du reigned supreme. The Zappa-influenced Camper Van Beethoven fell somewhere inbetween, merging [...]
Cherry Red, 2008 England 1979 — punk was morphing into the more experimental post-punk and saw landmark releases from PiL, Gang of Four, The Cure, Joy Division and The Pop Group. And then…then there was The Monochrome Set. Instead of vitriolic and/or depressive lyrics, distorted guitars and dub and funk influenced bass The Monochrome Set [...]
National, 2007 The twelve month period denoted by the title of this compilation (that’s how the logical Swedes write the date) was an ultra productive period for Stockholm’s Linda Carlsson otherwise known as Miss Li. Her debut album Late Night Heartbroken Blues, released in November 2006 established the Miss Li blueprint: a simple piano melody, [...]
Cherry Red, 2008 How does a band become a “favourite?” Some acts are found and then loved via recommendations from press, blogs, radio or friends. Some have an extensive back catalogue ready to be devoured and devoted to. Others quietly creep up behind and sucker punch you with a single song leaving you stunned [...]
One of Webcuts favourite albums of 2011 was Coastal GroovesBlood Orange aka Dev Hynes. It was our “dancing in the dark, alone” album, or club grooves for loners. Directed by Haley Wollens, the video for “Champagne Coast” features an assortment of jerkily animated girls dancing in each of their specifically designed bedrooms, while Dev Hynes stands idly by. As Dev explained recently in The New York Times: “The song, as with every other piece of music I seem to make, is mostly about longing, creating scenarios in regards to an unrequited lover, plans that will never see fruition. So you’re left alone in your digitally created interior to dance by yourself”. We can also announce that Blood Orange has been confirmed to play at this year’s Field Day Festival in London’s Victoria Park on June 2nd. Further UK dates are to be announced.
