yuck – and so she thinks

Yuck – Age Of Consent (New Order cover) – Live at RAK

admin — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 17:13:47 +0000

Ahead of next week’s takeover at The Macbeth, Yuck have shared this excellent video covering new New Order’s Age Of Consent recorded at the legendary RAK Studios in NorthWest London. The full set, directed and filmed as a 360-style improvised ‘experiment’ by Michael Lawrence, features recently announced new guitarist Ed Hayes, and includes tracks from the band’s forthcoming second album, Glow & Behold. Oh, and is ruddy awesome.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b5QmYxa20g&w=420&h=315]

Yuck – Middle Sea

admin — Fri, 23 Aug 2013 18:00:46 +0000

Want some lo fi anthem if drone in your life from one of the most prolific and consistently promising bands of recent years? Yuck have a new album out on September 30th, Glow & Behold, which is full of enchanting tunes that are a bit more rambunctious than previously seen (perhaps to do with the departure of founding member Daniel Blumberg) and Middle Sea is the first single and video to be taken from it. Pre order the 12″ here.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71Jv6iQrm8o&w=560&h=315]

Where next?

admin — Sun, 09 May 2010 20:18:47 +0000

Blood Red Shoes @ Revenge
Thursday 21.45
Not that they need a bigging up in any way, shape or form with this being a home tie n’all for the Brighton duo, but this Thursday night slot should go off big time as they clatter there way through tracks from both killer albums. I’m physically jealous I can’t get down for this (Pavement in Brixton is a good excuse though yeah?) as newbies such as ‘Don’t Ask’, ‘Light it Up’ and ‘Count Me Out’, for me, stand right up there with fans favourites from Box of Secrets and it’s just going to be intense. I’m done talking and choking up, just check it out.
Stand out tracks – all of them…
Yuck @ Corn Exchange
Thursday 21.30
Having had the Gary Numan synths, the Spandau Ballet cheese, female glamour pop and seemingly every other 80s sound revived in the past couple of years it was only a matter of time before the American Indie of Dinosaur Jr, Sonic Youth and Pavement got a chance. Take two mem-bers from the remains of Cajun Dance Party (music veterans still in their teens), sprinkle in a Japanese bassist and a New Jersey Drummer and voila, it’s Yuck. Hav-ing only played a handful of dates as yet, but quickly building a good live reputation, they play a blend of scuzzy, melodic gui-tars and youthful, harmonious vocals with little of the urgency or feistiness of CDP which allows for a more mature, laid back sound that shouldn’t be missed.
Stand out Tracks – Georgia, The Automatic
Unicorn Kid @ Dome
Saturday 20.30
Chip Tunes? Happy Hardcore? Tartan trance? Hyper-pop? Whatever you want to call it Scottish teenager Oli Sabin, aka Unicorn Kid, creates some huge tunes which has led him to providing remixes for the likes of Pet Shop Boys and Gorillaz. Sounding a bit like a euphoric Crystal Castles without the screaming banshee vocals, and with Huw Stephens and Zane Lowe firmly on board, tracks such as Lion Hat and new single Dream Catcher are going to sound massive live. ‘Listening to Unicorn Kid ‘is how I imagine Pacman feels when he eats one of those flashing pills and turns medieval on those ghosts. Awesome.
Stand out tracks – Wee Monster, Lion Hat
King Charles @ Queens Hotel
Thursday 22.15
Probably vying with Darwin Deez for the ‘get your hair cut you hippy’ award at TGE, but his unique styles go further than his hirsuteness . Twisting folk, synths, touches of hip-hop and even a couple of guitar solos (woop), King Charles dishes out genre defining liaisons that have been earning him rave reviews of late. Having previously supported the likes of Noah and the Whale and Laura Marling, but seemingly having broken free from the current folk scene, he creates big songs that lose none of their subtleness live. Definitely worth checking out.
Stand Out Tracks – Love Lust, Time of Eternity

Villagers @ Prince Albert (Friday 14.00) Unitarian Church (Friday 21.00) Revenge (Saturday 21.45)
Currently getting a lot of night time Radio 1 airplay with current single ‘Becoming a Jackal’, and being compared to every singer / songwriter from Neil Young to Bright eyes, Irishman Conor J O’Brien and his band play his beautiful, poetic tracks with 3 shows over the weekend. The comparisons are certainly easy to hear with O’Brien’s voice very similar to Connor Oberst’s, and some-times he toes the line of earnestness and pretention, but he’s certainly one to watch especially for fans of Eliot Smith, Bon Iver or the aforementioned Bright Eyes.
Stand out Tracks – Becoming A Jackal

Blackchords
Thursday 19.30 @ Aussie BBQ, Coalition
If you’re heading down to the Aussie BBQ at Coalition solely for Fosters and shrimps, your expectations of Australian music having ignited and extinguished with Kylie and Jason lend an ear to Blackchords. Soaking up everything from Nick Drake and Ryan Adams to The Smiths and The Cure, Blackchords ring out from their musical sponge of influences deep and reflective music that is arrestingly relevant as well as an antidote to everyday life.
Recent debut is twilight record, the songs are the type that are difficult to pinpoint and define, yet feel as natural as the sleepy haze this time of day evokes. Despite being architecturally assured the overarching image is of an open wound that needs healing, especially in ‘Broken Bones’ and ‘Pretty Little Thing.’
This is not to say that ‘Blackchords’ are a despondent band, far from it. Bones’ a rollicking rocker. With every swoop of the guitar and bang of the drums you’ll become one step closer to forgetting the words to ‘Especially For You.’

Ones To Watch

admin — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 20:29:06 +0000

It tends to take years, or at least months, for bands to form a following, to build a reputation and to get themselves heard. The arrival of January 2011 will not suddenly create a throng of new artists that until now have been hiding away, ready to form on New Year’s Eve and take the music industry by storm. That’s why the following list of artists are not necessarily ‘new bands’. You may have heard of them, they may already be huge or you may not have a clue who they are. But, either way, we love them and hope that they get the attention they deserve in 2011.

Wolf Gang – Electro indie pop genius. Recent single ‘Lions in Cages’ is an enjoyable, upbeat track that MGMT would be proud of. Wolf Gang AKA Max McElligott has a host of dates coming up in February and March, including a tour supporting popular Kiwi’s The Naked and Famous.

Yuck – Formed out of the ashes of the beautiful Cajun Dance Party, Yuck are a different animal altogether. The band fuse together a blend of grunge and shoegaze that creates a raw, scuzzy but downright fantastic sound. Singles Georgia and Rubber are two very different track which increases anticipation about the finished album, set for release in 2011. This promises to be a huge year for Yuck.
Trophy Wife – Trophy Wife became a internet buzz band in the latter part of 2010 with the exceptional single ‘Microlite’. The trio are set to build on this momentum throughout 2011 by seeing in the year playing with fellow Oxfordians, and influence, Foals at The Forum in London. Foals’ ‘Total Life Forever’ was one of the albums of 2010: don’t be surprised if Trophy Wife’s debut album gets similar plaudits.

Boy & Bear – Australian band Boy & Bear are the sort of band that leave you standing in awe, with the hairs on the back of your neck raised and a tingle down your spine. Debut EP ‘With Emperor Antarctica’ is an exceptional 5 track collection of indie folk. Having supported Laura Marling and Mumford and Sons in 2010, Boy & Bear are set to return to UK shores in the middle of 2011 with a debut album and a set of festival appearances. Don’t miss them.
Dry The River – In a similar vein to Boy & Bear, Dry The River produce beautiful songs with sing a long qualities. Songs such as ‘New Ceremony’ and ‘Family Tree’ start slowly and build in to a bubbling pace. 2011 looks likely to be a promising year for the London based quintet.
Cosmo Jarvis – “Yo-ho Sebastian, Let’s go far away, Somewhere where the captain won’t be mad. Yo-ho Sebastian, I want to love you good. We deserve much better than we’ve had” You need to be either a genius or a fool to write a song called ‘Gay Pirates’ about a homosexual pirate who loves fellow swashbuckler Sebastian. With over 540,000 views on YouTube consensus suggests that Cosmo Jarvis is. A genius, not a homosexual pirate.

Ross and the Wrongens – Ross has to be one of the nicest guys in the music business. Events conspired against Ross that meant the usual wrongens were unable to join him on stage to headline the November It’s All Happening gig. Not to be deterred, Ross was joined on stage by a part time wrongen and cracked out a fantastic set of upbeat indie pop. If Ross and the Wrongens are at a venue near you in 2011 then you must see them: they deserve great things.
Tall Ships – Tall Ships came on to the IAH radar in 2010 having released two brilliant EPs and an energetic live show that sees the trio pass instruments around like a hot potato. Part of the fantastic roster of reliable record label Big Scary Monsters and management Idle Hands Club, Tall Ships have a lot of talent and are sure to make big waves in 2011.
The Joy Formidable – Long term readers of IAH will probably be aware of our championing of The Joy Formidable. Debut full length album ‘The Big Roar’ is to be released on January 24^th 2011 and is set to be massive. The trio make an unfathomable layered sound that is so different from most bands in the current music scene. Having heard the promo copy, The Big Roar will be one of the best albums of the year.
Spring Offensive – Spring Offensive are a delightful band. They have a great ability of writing dark, but intelligent lyrics with unpredictably catchy tunes. With an EP and a mini album already under their belt, we’re expecting a full length album in 2011 from the Oxford quintet.
The Cast of Cheers – In all honesty, IAH don’t know what The Cast of Cheers have planned for 2011. New album? Tour? Split up? No idea. Hopefully it will be the former two because we have just had the joy of discovering 2010 debut album ‘Chariot’ and my gosh- it’s good! This Irish foursome have a Foals-esque brilliance about them: a calculated, jagged rock that wants you leaving more. Hopefully 2011 will be the year that everybody knows their name.