Here are five of the best tracks released recently, according to me, of course. If you're mad enough to trust me and bored enough to read on, I think you'll find this list might change your whole life. You're welcome.
1) 'Get Off' - Zuzu
First of all, we need to talk about this killer track. As soon as I heard 'Get Off', included on the 'Hot New Bands Spotify Playlist' earlier this week, it had me SNATCHED. Liverpool newcomers Zuzu slam through this super-addictive track, nourished with nasty guitars and rusty vocals. Zuzu's visual style is a thrown-back devil-may-care attitude, that appears like a collision between Lisa Loeb and Chrissie Hynde. It is slacker rock, and it is a revelation. It kind of has this hit&run euphoria akin to what one might experience on one of those roller-coaster things. You just feel compelled to go again. There are musical resemblances to Pavement, Sonic Youth, Grandaddy, and The La's. I have this on repeat all week.
2) 'Waste A Moment' - Kings Of Leon
The return of Kings Of Leon is just something that needed to happen. I have a personal attachment to their work, and remember how a friend of mine that passed away adored them so. They were the soundtrack to my teenage years, they were our Rolling Stones. In a recent interview with NME, Kings of Leon front-man Caleb Followill spilled some Tea on the band's years prior to their spectacular comeback album, 'Walls'. "There were a lot of moments where we weren't talking, it was like, 'Man, we've become business partners. We haven't maintained our friendship and our brotherhood, everything that we are." I suppose these things happen, after all, they do say blood is thicker than water. But never forget that if your blood is too thick it can lead to cardiac arrest. Another lead to cardiac arrest is this track, which, also, I have on repeat. NME, by the way, said that the song "takes itself too seriously", which is the most ironic thing that I've heard all fucking week, to be honest. Also: I need to know where Jared Followill got his uber-cool rose-embroidered polyester shirt because it's lit AF.
3) 'She Said' - Sundara Karma
After fortifying their profile with some savage EP's, memorable festival performances and live shows, Reading-based Sundara Karma are one of the most talked about bands in indie music. 'She Said' is one of their latest tracks and is getting a hella lotta airplay, and rightfully so. I'm told William Shakespeare is one of their biggest influences, obviously because he was a rock'n'roll bad-ass who also wrote some poems on the side. Their music is infectious and youthful, but considering the reverberatory sound from their song 'Olympia', from their forthcoming album 'Youth Is Only Ever Fun In Retrospect', they are about to take on a more complex and ambitious sound. One of my favorite bands right about now.
4) 'Honey' - Pumarosa
Love this. With their latest recording 'Honey', their first collaboration with Fiction Records, this East London based quintet are breaking down genre and beguiling people with their sexy live performances. This awesome band assembled when singer-songwriter Isabel Munoz-Newsome's previous band broke up. She wanted to collaborate with other artists, so Pumarosa came about and have been ripping shit up since. 'Honey' is a confident and well produced piece of work. With jangly guitars, some quick-witted electronica and Isabel's howling vocals, for me it invokes Kim Gordon and Siouxsie Sioux. Unfortunately they couldn't make their Dublin gig due to illness, but hopefully they'll make it over soon. You need to check this track out.
5) 'Classic Masher' - Pixies
It doesn't take long to realize why the Pixies were the late David Bowie's favorite band, and why he championed their journey of waging through all the sludge of the late eighties to their eventual surfacing. As Rupaul would say, like the Lotus in the Mudd. When they regrouped at Coachella back in 2004 after a whopping eleven year hiatus, they reinvigorated the previous glory they instilled in their hard-core fans. The Massachusetts group ignited a frenzy and have delivered ever since. Some of the best lyrics in modern rock music can be found in their recordings. There really was nothing like their sound when they first broke out, smashing the rules and sending a jolt to all those comfortable rock stars who forgot they needed to be revolutionary and all that. Their latest track 'Classic Masher' is a more easy-going recording, and is also on my playlist. Make sure to put it on yours.
Also, make sure to check out one of my favorite Music Documentaries based on the Pixies reunion, produced by Noisey:
Bonus Track - You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) - Pete Burns
And there you have it.
If you're still reading, I would also like to include a live performance from the late Pete Burns, broadcast on television earlier this year. It was awfully sad to hear he died. Truly and really, one of the most important and influential icons of modern counter-culture. A fearless and outspoken artist that pushed his own limit, caused tremendous consternation while never conceding his own vision, and smashing the boundaries of what was acceptable in his own time. Courageous, fascinating, bold, and beautiful. Someone whom was one of the few left on my bucket-list of people I want to meet. The list of people in the entertainment industry who have appropriated his ideas and have been inspired by him is longer than is regularly recognised. Such a sad week for so many people who are part of our arts tribe, people who live on the boundaries and refuse to settle for a practical job and a comfortable life. We've lost a true original. I wish his loved ones well.