Introducing: Run Tiger Run.

Resembling the sound of Bombay Bicycle Club, and embracing the hazy sounds of dream pop/rock, Liverpool based band Run Tiger Run are certainly worth a listen. Here is their latest single 'Hummingbird'. The song contains outbursts of raw, scratchy, and atmospheric distorted guitar-filled choruses which echo sounds of the summer and festival season nostalgia.  Run Tiger Run have already supported JAWS, and secured a spot at Liverpool's X&Y festival, so jump on the bandwagon before it gets overcrowded...

To listen to their new single, click here.

Alex Turner's Brit Speech: Some much needed reflection.

Alex Turner was the center of controversy last week with his unconventional, ‘rebellious’ acceptance speech, claiming ‘Rock & Roll will never die’ which galvanized both criticism and appraisal.  His words have divided the nation, with some disregarding it as arrogant, pretentious nonsense, whilst others have glorified it as a heroic rebellion against the current dissatisfying pop culture. Generally, Alex Turner has been completely misunderstood. The fact that the mainstream media have transfigured and manipulated Alex Turner’s overt nonchalance into disdainful arrogance, magnifies their misinterpretation of something quite brilliant.

Every year, the Brits is forced upon us, and each year we eat up those tediously dull acceptance speeches, that reel of a dozen publicists, producers, and family names. It’s not vaguely interesting or captivating, and let’s be honest it’s hardly sincere, but it’s the staple element of any awards show.  Alex Turner interrupted the chain of ‘pop puppets’ being precariously grateful for their award and eating up James Corden’s tiring penchant for awkward one-liners. Alex dropped a dose of sincerity into the environment. And as we all know, overstated award ceremonies and sincerity, by the laws of physics, naturally repel each other.

 The Sheffield front man began his acceptance speech with ‘That Rock & Roll Eh?, That Rock & Roll, it just won’t go away. It might hibernate from time to time and sink back into the swamp’. Now, immediately this is a dig at the current state of the music industry which is often exemplified in ceremonies like the Brits.  It would seem that guitar music has been marginalized for a while, but with Arctic Monkeys beating One Direction at this year’s Brits, the public are weaning back to the illustrious clutches of Rock & Roll.  He then delves into the intricate theories of the universe and states that ‘And I think the cyclical nature of the universe in which it exists, demands it adheres to some of its rules’.  It is around this point I expect that the critics and the media are deeming it as ‘pretentious waddle’, however coming out with something so profoundly abstract like this whilst somewhat intoxicated, requires some talent. Most of us can barely perform the facile task of walking in a straight line whilst under the influence, and Alex Turner uses the cyclical laws of the universe as a theoretical metaphor? Brilliant.

So, perhaps it did enter the territory of self-indulgent pretentiousness, but underneath that, there was sincere disillusionment and frustration towards the music industry, and an intent passion for the genre that made them who they are.  So far, critics have regarded Alex Turner’s final note of ‘Oh and uh, invoice me for the microphone’ before seconds later, dropping the microphone, as an arrogant little tantrum. Unfortunately, once again they have completely misunderstood the point. Alex Turner’s disregard for the microphone wasn't his pièce de résistance, the unorthodox, heroic disregard for the ceremony was. Of course, this begs the question, if they disregard the Brits so much then why did they go? Turner and Co have a history of stirring ‘controversy’ at award ceremonies. At the Q awards in 2007, Alex Turner claimed that ‘even I know Take That are bollocks’. What Alex Turner said last night, wasn't particularly controversial, however it just goes to show how easy it is to be controversial in today’s pop culture which preys on the outsiders who don’t express an opinion which fits the vacuous consensus. 

The speech can essentially be seen as an appraisal of the reckoning and abiding success of Rock & Roll, not arrogance. It was everything Rock & Roll is supposed to be, unpredictable, unorthodox and exciting.  In a way it was almost a humble gesture by devoting the award to the genre of music which inspired and cultivated Arctic Monkeys’ sound and attitude. It was also last week that Radio One producer, James Murphy, stated that ‘Guitar music is definitely on the way back’. Arctic Monkeys’ success at the Brits, voted by the public, certainly proved that. Alex Turner completely satirized the whole event and the music industry, whilst definitely aggravating many. However it was unequivocally refreshing, and it has irritated the little mind numbed ‘sheeples’ (Yes, a portmanteau of ‘Sheep’ and People’) who voluntarily brainwash themselves in the current depressing state of pop music. If it annoys those ‘sheeples’, who defy anything with an organic sound or a hint of musical talent, it’s probably a good thing. However, it’s unfortunate that the mainstream media disregarded his speech as ‘pretentious waddle’ rather than embracing the much needed rejuvenation of Rock & Roll. ‘Pretentious waddle’ or heroic defiance, it’s certainly put them and Rock & Roll back into the spot light, and for that, us outsiders who you spoke to and inspired, thank you Alex Turner - don't go away.

Temples 'Sun Structures' keeping the cog in the neo-psychedelic machine moving.

Temples first seized and cemented my attention when I saw them at Camden’s Electric Ballroom last November. I was prompted to see them by the brilliant, retro, Revolver-esque ‘Shelter Song’ that, for me, was undeniably the most memorable song of 2012. ‘Colours To Life’ also stimulated a rush of excitement and anticipation for an album, which would completely defy the populist, humdrum, talentless music industry that phrenic music lovers repel today.  Following the recent unveiling of ‘Sun Structures’, some may accuse Temples of being derivative or simply a by-product of albums such as The Beatles ‘Revolver’, or ‘Strange Days’ by The Doors.  Temples are hardly the avant-garde archetype and ‘Sun Structures’ may not be particularly revolutionary, but it’s certainly refreshing.

‘Sun Structures’ opens with Shelter Song, which immediately sets the tone for a hallucegnic journey down, what Temples have a labelled themselves as, a ‘neo-psych’ path. The use of vintage equipment to encapture the sound and spirit of the psychedelic scene of the 60s is perpetual in what is a strong opening track. However, the album isn’t just a nostalgic trip to 1969, it encapsulates the evolution of psychedelia, from The Beatles, to Pink Floyd and The Flaming Lips, and puts a modern spin on it, with electric synths often creeping in. ‘The Golden Throne’ combines orchestral 60s pop with heavy with fuzz-pedal guitar riffs, which is more innovative than Temples critics would proclaim. The album’s highlight is unquestionably ‘Move With The Season’, a stunning, dazed, rush of intricately crafted melodic riffs. It avoids the pitfall that many psychedelic bands fall into by filling an album with distorted guitar, to the point where it becomes tiresome and all sense of melody evaporates with little substance left behind.

It’s extraordinary that this is Temples debut album. The mastery demonstrated in ‘Sun Structures’ would fool the listener to believing that this was their third or fourth. ‘The Guesser’ resembles a track that could appear on a Tarantino film, with heavy emphasis on the percussion side and hypnotic acid-soaked riffs. ‘Sand Dance’ magnifies the incurable hippy nature of the band, resembling some sort of ancient Egyptian ritual, and certainly something that would send a crowd at Woodstock into a hippy frenzy.  The album ends with ‘Fragment’s Light’ a dreamy, ritualistic two minute track (the shortest track on the album) with no heavy drums propelling the track, but the soft acoustic melody and dazed and suffused vocals carries the track by itself.

So far the album has divided both fans and the critics. However, as an album it embeds all the best elements of psychedelic rock whilst paying extra attention to sweeping, anthemic melodies. Whether you find this

‘ground-breaking’ or not, it’s an album which will keep the cogs in the psychedelic machine moving through 2014. Yes, the lyrics are hardly going to evoke emotions, or experiences that we can directly relate to, such as bands like The Smiths cultivated in their ingenious lyrics. However, this is an album that pursues escape from the dreary norms of everyday life, and everyday experiences. It thrusts you into a different world, a world of utopian day dreams and psychedelic euphoria. A desirable hide away from the incredibly tedious, superficial and aesthetic music scene which propels the talentless into stardom and success. Whilst this album will probably not be greeted with massive commercial success, it will appear in all of the music connoisseur’s beloved vinyl collection, as this is an album made to be played on a turntable.

Warpaint's Latest Offering

2013 was the year the all-woman four-piece Haim captured the whole of Britain’s attention (yes, even David Cameron acknowledged his utmost reverence for the band via Twitter), but 2014 is the year of Warpaint.

Fortunately for Warpaint’s fans, the band are in no way assimilated with David Cameron, or any other obsolete politician trying to stay in touch with the music world (and even perhaps the real world), in order to appeal to the younger electorate. In fact, with their debut only selling 30,000 copies, there is little to account for the talent the quartet from L.A have. However, with festival season on the horizon, and the release of their self-titled album at the beginning of this week, music critics will turn their attention to one of the most promising bands in the music industry today.#

I was lucky enough to see Warpaint at Brixton Academy last October, and was privileged to hear some of their new unreleased material. It was unquestionably one of the most endearingly bizarre gigs I have ever attended. It was only a few days after Lou Reed had passed away, and there was a cloud of aberrant pessimism shrouding the crowd of music lovers’ heads, as the DJ decided to put on Lou Reed’s discography to ‘warm up’ the crowd, which ironically served as a complete paradox to its intentions. It was an intense atmosphere, which would be hard for Warpaint to break, but with their innovative, refreshing dose of alternative soft-grunge rock, they restored the crowd’s faith in the music industry’s capability to produce something immensely great. Their self-titled album only reinforces this.

The album begins with the drifting and beguiling ‘Intro’, which doesn't build up to anything astounding and it ceases to fail to leave you enchanted, but after all it is only the intro. The album then delves straight into ‘Keep It Healthy’, of which Theresa’s ghostly vocals float through the disjointed, but nevertheless hypnotic, riffs. Theresa’s vocals are far more prominent in this album in contrast to their debut, where the vocals were more equally distributed between Emily Kokal and Theresa. ‘Love Is To Die’ which engenders the conflicting, and quite frankly frustrating lyrics ‘Love is to die, Love is to not die’ is perhaps the most anthemic track on the album, despite the band being unable to make up their minds.

There is an array of surprises that feature on this album, perhaps the most intriguing is the marijuana induced, Portishead-influenced ‘Hi’. The track offers provocative dub seductions, which befittingly suits Theresa’s term to embody the general theme of the album, ‘sexy’.  Aside from ‘Love Is To Die’, ‘Biggy’ is Warpaint’s exceptional moment of subtle musical genius. It’s the sort of track that Thom Yorke would have loved to produced, or written himself. It’s not something that will make you want to get up and dance with enthusiasm, but it will make you drift along on Warpaint’s enigmatic and nebulous journey to music’s utopia of subtle and intimate brilliance.

‘Disco//Very’ is the album’s most ‘upbeat’ track (although it’s conspicuously dubious to assimilate ‘upbeat’ with Warpaint), which is juxtaposed with dark and spidery tremors of bass and ominous lyrics ‘Don’t you battle, we’ll kill you, we’ll rip you up and tear you in two’. Stella Mogwaza’s mastery of percussion which has a heavy R&B influence supports the foundations of this track, as well as serving as the beating heart of the album as a whole.  

‘Drive’ is immersed with synths, which is underpinned by the bands hazy harmonious vocals and then fades out with their signature XX-esque guitar sound. The album ends on a stripped down surprise, ‘Son’, with guitars, drums and bass virtually non-existent for most of the track. However, this subtle stripped down side to Warpaint is soon overturned by a burst of eidolic vocals, and beautifully crafted soft-grunge with an electronic edge.

 It’s certainly not an album that will be engulfed by the mainstream, but Warpaint are inherently anti-mainstream, defying the stereotypes of the LA rock scene, and offering an interesting alternative to Haim.  Their debut album sounds more like a rambling scrapbook of their influences, whereas their self-titled album is shrouded with mastery, ambition, and musical prowess.  The band have learned to meld all of their talented elements into something incredibly fulfilling for themselves, and us as listeners. Each song carries its own distinct personality, and the album as a whole is a deeply personal and intimate record, yet with the help of Foals and Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, it stands as a cohesive masterpiece.