Foals New Album

A few weeks ago, one of my favourite bands Foals released a new single from their upcoming album Holy Fire. The song "Inhaler" is a beast of a song and has ever since, made me hugely impatient for their new album. This song demonstrates a potential new side to Foals whose two previous albums are sonically and musically sparse. It opens up with their typical funk stylings yet as it begins to build up to the chorus, you can tell something epic is about to happen.
A mammoth of a guitar riff that completely takes you by surprise arrives and more or less blows up your speakers. It definitely sounds like Foals have been listening to badasses Rage Against the Machine for some inspiration lately.

After appearing on Later with Jools Holland, Foals showcased a new number called, well "My Number" that at first, made me slightly anxious. Like in Total Life Forever, when the eponymous single of that record came out, I wasn't sure what to make of it. I enjoy funk as much as the next person but their performance on Jools Holland, wasn't, well, brilliant. Then they officially released the single and restored my faith. It has this Tears for Fears meets Talking Heads vibe, with its afro-funk style of playing, a sound I think they've been trying to develop since their first releases. Its catchy, intertwining guitars and the occasional "ooh" shows a side of Foals flirting with pop music. But the good kind, the one from the 80's.

Then they played "Late Night" on Live at Abbey Road and everything slightly changed. This was a side of Foals I was hoping they would retain. The ethereal, grand and euphoric side, one that shows up every once in a while. And nothing since their magnum opus "Spanish Sahara". It opens very slowly but it gradually grows in size and epicness. Starting with a rhodes piano and repetitive bass line, Yannis Phillipakis' voice comes in with a calm drum pattern settling in in the background. It takes a while but it's worth it. We're even shown a solo by Yannis, something I've been waiting for for so long. This, of course, will not be the chef d'oeuvre of their album, but just a taster for what to expect, and I'm sure it's going to get even better.

Foals release their album the 13th of February 2013, and with this in mind, I already know how I'm going to be spending my Valentine's day.

Best New Acts - Wolf Alice

Right, well admittedly I did discover this band through Paul Lester, who two blogposts ago I wished to challenge. Wolf Alice is also the first, in the conventional sense of the word, band that I've put up. Composed of three members, Wolf Alice possess a sound that intertwines old-school blues with what seems like an obvious for singer Ellie Rosswell, Daughter.

The first song I heard by them was called "Leaving You", a touching song that begins in a similar vein to Daughter's 'Youth'. Typical blues chords, bliss harmonies  and sorrowful lyrics but then it suddenly merges into a powerful blues ballad, which reminded me of early Kings Of Leon (when they weren't absolute douchebags).

"Wednesday" demonstrates their poppier side yet maintains the emotional impact of the music, where unlike most bands who wish to expand their sound in similar fashion, Wolf Alice have not sold out. The song sounds like the perfect soundtrack music for a Skins episode and even potentially a song that could feature on a Apple advert, which would surely assist in their flight to stardom.

What I like most about this band is the fact they have an earnest and honest sound. These are true emotions that they are trying to convey and the backing music accompanies it perfectly, a feature reminiscent of Bon Iver's style. 

Best New Act -Andrea

Now you would probably assume the sex of the artist just from the name Andrea, yet sorry to say but you're wrong. Andrea is a dude.

Hailing from Paris, France, Andrea is another of those artist claiming to be under the umbrella of "Future Garage". Now this term has been plaguing my mind ever since I first heard and even though I now know how to define a number of artists thanks to this name (e.g. Bondax) I still have more or less no idea what it is.

Now whenever a term like this needs defining, I always turn to the ever reliable Urban Dictionary who define it as: "A term used to refer the music that is perceived as taking Dubstep back to its roots in UK Garage (particularly 2-Step) while also mixing elements from other genres such as IDM, hip-hop, and trip-hop."

Ok so we've got the basics now to the music itself. I first heard of him on a Maths Time Joy Mix earlier this month (an artist I will also look at) with his remix of We Sink's "Cat o' Nine Tails" which really grabbed my attention. I can see why it was used on this mix as it possessed a number of similarities to Maths Time Joy. Heavily altered vocals, dubstep-ish basslines, out of control drums and sweet synths, the music is chaotic in a controlled atmosphere.

His Sound cloud page is full of intereting remixes from The 1975's "You" to the XX's "Angels" in which the latter I would life to emphasize on. I was hugely disappointed with their new album yet this remix gives the pain-stakingly minimal song a whole new life to it. This may be controversial but I think I prefer his remix to the original.

His own songs are also very good, ranging from Trip-Hop, Flying Lotus and Chill Wave sonic influences, he's building up a a great repertoire to showcases his untainted talent and eclectic tastes.

In any case, Andrea is really an artist to look out for. An unsigned act, all his music can be downloaded for free on his sound cloud and with the way he's going, I really think you should capitalize on this before he does start to get big, especially for any hipsters out there who can claim they knew him before he was big (like myself).

Best New Bands

As you've probably noticed, I haven't written a blogpost in some while and this is largely due to my recent exams that had taken up the majority of my time. Now that they are over, I can gladly say I can commence once again.

Recently, I've been reading some articles written by Paul Lester who works for the Guardian who essentially writes columns detailing the supposes 'best' bands that are around at the moment on a daily basis. After reviewing a number of these bands, I have to say I wasn't completely convinced by his choices (yet he has stated that he does not always enjoy the music he puts up) and decided to write my version. Of course, not every entry will be as recent as his, but all will have come to the public eye in the last year. So, without further delay, I'll begin with my first 'Best New Band' at the moment.

Ok, so this guy may not have strictly shown up this year ( he released an EP in 2011) but electro artist Holy Other is definitely worth mentioning as his new album 'Held' showcases some of the best talent Britain has to offer this year.

As you can probably tell, this individual is not so keen on showing himself in public, and his sombre and almost distant appearance is reflected in his music. Under the trendy label 'TRI ANGLE', which is home to such acts as 'How To Dress Well' and 'Balam Acab', this artist is exponent of an ever so emerging genre called 'Witch House'. Dark, moody, slow and solemn, this genre is almost attempting to mutate R&B into a ghostly, ethereal and almost apocalyptic genre. With songs such as "Tense Past" and "Held", pensiveness and solitude seem like lifestyles to follow according to Holy Other. Cut-up gothic vocals, sombre synths and powerful yet simplistic beats are what characterise this music. It seems like one of the many attempted heirs to Joy Division's early innovative sound that so many bands have attempted to imitate and or push forward. With Holy Other, it kind of works. Of course, there are no Ian Curtis style lyrics yet sonically, it seems as though Martin Hannett may have been an influence (even if this was a very obscure influence).

The album as a whole seems to reflect an idea of repetitiveness, especially one of pain. Titles such as "In Difference" seem to reflect this mood of emotional exhaustion. The album closes on a potentially the darkest song "Nothing Here" with its bleak title and gothic like pads, the song seems to represent a final defeat for the artist. Even the vocal loops sound like they've been sampled from someone actually in pain (note the female and male vocals) yet half way through the song picks up with dulcet vocals and what sounds like a xylophone that give the song extra life. The listener is unable to tell the concluding mood of the artist but ambiguity is probably exactly what Holy Other was after really.

To conclude, if this is the future of R&B than thank God, hopefully it will rid the world of such artists as Justin Timberlake and R Kelly.