Young NYC-by-means-of-San Diego pop duo CULTS burst onto the scene early last year with the irresistible 'Go Outdoors', a short, sharp burst of hazy bedroom pop steeped in classic girl-group harmonies and Spector-esque manufacturing. Being 'fiercely independent' means nothing if your band is rubbish.
The anonymous producer's self-titled debut album (released through our mates at Young Turks) pulls off a series of spectacular feats: it is bursting with contemporary ideas, and yet it sounds immediately familiar; it is warm yet gritty, playful but seriously powerful. Since then the band has launched their debut album Shortwave in 2009, the Flux Pentaphile EP in 2010 and have played numerous reveals up and down the nation with the likes of the Mint Chicks, The Datsuns, The Dirtbombs, Pierced Arrows, Crocodiles, Jeff the Brotherhood, The Conditions, Road Chant, Rackets, BRMC and the Foo Fighters as well as numerous trips round each North and South in a automotive full of gear.
Yeah man, thank you. It is mystical, sure, but without any of the put-on eccentricity or pussy licking pretension those words generally suggest. ANNA CALVI is on hearth. On Ring, the L.A.
It's sparse and full of reverb and like all our favourite Nineties girls' albums rolled into one. The Beat, The Pulse' and 'Lose It', as they needs to be.
The album is a slow-burner and, ngentot dare we say it, a masterpiece. File next to Bat For Lashes, Kate Bush and The Knife. Which might suck, however at the very least no one would be demanding my guide have uncle fucking pussy willows on the cover.
East London by way of Southend-On-Sea band THE HORRORS have come a long way since 2005, when they graced the cowl of the NME with eye-linered eyes, jilat memek large hair, memek an eff-you angle and barely a single (the spiky 'Sheena Is A Parasite') to their title. Girls (who will not be actually girls) have upped the ante with their stunner of an album, Father Son, Holy Ghost, a launch marked by basic tune-writing and classy production.
1 on the ARIA Charts) and right around the globe, this singular talent is on the brink of major worldwide success. TICKETS ON SALE WEDNESDAY 19 OCTOBER.
It is a document that marks SBTRKT as a standout of the pervasive dubstep scene and an artist worthy of a mainstream viewers. Thankfully publicity-shy, document label-averse Mancunian 4-piece WU LYF (World Unite Lucifer Youth Basis) are something but. The self-described proponents of 'heavy pop' released their startling first report Go Forth To The Mountain to far-flung adoration in the middle of the year and it is indeed a corker: the explosive mix of organs, echoed percussion, chiming guitar and probably the most distinctive vocalists of latest years combining to totally euphoric effect.