wichita – and so she thinks

Waxahatchee – The Dirt

admin — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 21:06:40 +0000

Sadly, Katie Crutchfield, better known as Waxahatchee, had to pull out of her Wichita birthday show at Islington Assembly Hall earlier this week, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t get our fill of punchy rawness, unsettling guitar and powerful lyrics. New single Dirt is one of the most upbeat from recent album Ivy Tripp, but just as gritty as anything else from that record of tangled emotions. Bitter and bruised, she sings ‘I’m a basement brimming with nothing great.’ She lies.

Released October 30th on Wichita.

Cheatahs – Sunne EP

admin — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 20:56:00 +0000

Sunne,the new EP from Cheatahs, is quite a triumph. Four tracks of exquisite craft, stitched intuitively together like the glow of twilight. There’s a blissed out feeling to proceedings, a hazy ambience that nonetheless chugs along with fever and tenacity. Thick clouds of fuzzing guitars are the cloth onto which soaring melodies are sewn, the whirrs of guitar chiming bright over bittersweet and distorted chords. Nathan Hewitt’s vocals are graceful but unswerving, and swirling molten instrumentals power onwards when the hooky choruses abate. Sunne is dreamlike reverie of blazing fearlessness, whilst Controller evolves and explores with pregnant complexity. James Wignall’s guitar playing is as incendiary as ever, underpinned by Marc Raue’s drumming and the deep bass tones from Dean Reid, which really come alive on the furious Campus. Worn tape and looping clicks add to the misty blur of proceedings, the texture of the record very much one of authenticity and energy, and this sketchiness is most evident on final and most punk track No Drones. The first release since their self titled debut album from the beginning of last year, Sunne shows Cheatahs as a band with a ton of potential, blazing out far brighter than they may have ever imagined during their early days in a Camberwell pub.

The EP is released on 23rd February via Wichita Recordings, with an accompanying EP Release party on 24th February at Power Lunches, Dalston.
https://soundcloud.com/cheatahs/controller-1/s-VcRcT

Girlpool EP

admin — Sat, 15 Nov 2014 10:06:13 +0000

As the melodies drag and the chords are played with melancholy I’m transported back to sulky teenage days and dreams in the distance that seem to be drowned in bleak skies. Ominous tones and unsteady notes ring out from Girlpool, the LA duo comprised of Cleo Tucker (guitar) and Harmony Tividad (bass), whilst the twanging notes and clipped rhythms add a sense of latent fizz. Paint Me Colors is an ode to despondent evenings alone, the scrawling Jane flirts with psychedelica, and Blah Blah Blah sees the tempo revved up and the hormones racing. Think Speedy Ortiz, Shampoo, Hole and Lush, frantic and grungey. Honest, catchy, self aware and drenched in rawness, this is the DIY ethos at its best.
http://girlpoool.bandcamp.com/
Released November 17th on Wichita.

Cloud Nothings – Now Hear In

admin — Tue, 14 Oct 2014 19:55:00 +0000

“I was feeling pretty good about everything so I just made stuff that made me happy.” That’s what songwriter Dylan Baldi of Cloud Nothings has to say about their new album Hear And Nowhere Else (out now on Wichita), and more music should come from such a happy place. Not that it’s all grins and rainbows – with the start of their world tour the band have released the grainy video of granite fuelled fuzz bomb Now Hear In, splices of grainy, manipulated, archive and shot footage that follows “a loose cyclical theme of identity and ego-birth/death” (director Jordan Blackmon of Toro Y Moi and Fork & Spoon Records fame). Deep shit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgFvNKwxYQo

Wichita is 10!

admin — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 21:01:27 +0000

Ten years is a long time in the music industry. Ten years is an even longer time to remain successful in the music industry, but that‘s exactly what Wichita Recordings have done. Wichita have become one of the most influential labels around, having a roster of artists including The Cribs, Bloc Party (and now Kele), Los Campesinos, First Aid Kit, Conor Oberst and Best Coast. In celebration of their tenth anniversary Wichita hosted four days of gigs at The Garage. On Monday 12th July it was Lissy Trullie, Those Dancing Days & Young Legionnaire, followed on Tuesday by First Aid Kit, Peggy Sue & Meg Baird. Wednesday was the night of the big guns, with The Cribs, Sky Larkin & Lovvers, culminating in Los Campesinos, Frankie And The Heartstrings & Johnny Foreigner on Thursday.
It‘s All Happening were lucky enough to attend the final two gigs of the week. The Cribs, performing without Johnny Marr, played their first two albums ‘The Cribs‘ and ‘New Fellas‘ back to back, for a proper hot and sweaty old-school gig. It felt like it was 2005. It felt like I was 18. It felt brilliant. The crowd were on form too, and when Gary Jarman stated in his broad Yorkshire accent ‘I‘m surprised no one has made it on to the stage yet‖, the 630 strong sell out crowd quite rightly took this as a challenge. Unsurprisingly, the security became rather busy. Lovvers had earlier ripped through an enjoyable set to open up the Wednesday night. They were closely followed by Sky Larkin who, playing several new songs from the record ‘Kaleide‘, seem to improve every time they perform.
Just 24 hours later It‘s All Happening were back at The Garage to see a lively Los Campesinos set in which they cracked out some tunes that are rarely played live anymore (‘International Tweecore Underground‘ and ‘In Medias Res’), along with the usual favourites (such as ‘You! Me! Dancing!‘ and ‘Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks‘). The seven piece are a fantastic live band and this performance reinforces that further. Los Campesinos were preceded by north east boys Frankie and The Heartstrings, who have been receiving rave reviews for their passionate performances, and Johnny Foreigner who opened the night with a energetic set that included being joined on stage by Gareth Los Campesinos for ‘Criminals‘.
Wichita have been inspirational, influential and incredible. All six bands over the two nights that we attended paid tribute to the label, and stated the impact Wichita had on their careers. Thank you Wichita – here‘s to another great ten years.
If you only own three albums from Wichita…
You will be missing out. But for now, start with these.
The Cribs: Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever
One of the best live bands you will ever see, and just as raw on record.
Los Campesinos: Hold On Now, Youngster…
Complex yet cerebal lyrics, knotted together with wonderfully spangly melodies. And it has You! Me! Dancing! on.
Best Coast: Crazy For You
Shamelessly simple yet wonderful sunny songs of love and longing