Epic Fields

From Birmingham to London via Iceland come Fields, five piece purveyors of quality tone, smoochy feedback and plenny-o-harmonies. A healthy slab of synthiness adds layers to an already epic wall of guitars and reverb-heavy drums, a sound which I don't want to pigeonhole at all (that's the job of the NME, not IndiEmo ha!). Let me just say that it's truly staring-in-wonder-at-the-skies type music. Their songs emerging and descending from and into tunnels of reverb and overdubbed vocals that would appear to mark them out as studio experimenters.

Fans of Arcade Fire and Guillemots won't be disappointed here, and neither will fans of Ride, Pale Saints, Slowdive... you get the picture. Newly signed to Atlantic Records, yhey're on tour throughout the UK in April (with a list of gigs on their myspace, they should be essential giggery. If they can cut their sound live, they should be a formidable act for 2007.



Above is the video for 'Song for the fields'.


Fields Website


Fields Myspace



Content by Charlie at left-legged pineapple.

something a bit quieter

The first time I saw Richard Walters perform was in a dingy, basement venue in the centre of Oxford awash with the smell of the neighbouring cosmetics shop and packed with pound-a-pint loving students. A slight, un-shaven man quietly crept onto stage whilst everyone obliviously found the bottom of their glasses and held conversations of outside world. Sat upon a rickety stool, legs arched inwards, head down, as close to disappearing into himself as he could muster, fingers gently started plucking and the room fell instantly silent. The way this stranger's delicate voice makes you stop dead in your tracks and the hairs on the back of your neck turn upwards is not too disimilar to the feeling you get when you first fall in love, and that's exactly what this is. Richard Walters is a 23 year old singer-songwriter born and raised in Oxford. He writes beautiful, fragile, acoustic songs which make you fall in love.


From his days in local band Theremin (Shifty Disco Records) to the current times of Oxford's premier solo artist, Richard's story is one of many triumphs and accomplishment. In the last two years he has written and recorded with long-time hero Bernard Butler, played the prestigious SXSW festival in Austin, Texas and toured the UK with Dave Matthews and Gemma Hayes as well as a handful of dates in Hong Kong. He has released an EP which gained much praise from Nic Harcourt on his LA based KCRW radio show, Morning Becomes Eclectic, and had one of his songs featued on the popular TV show CSI: Miami, receiving the biggest response CBS have ever had for a piece of music on their programme. On top of all this, Richard has formed two bands: Monoband with ex-Cranberries man Noel Hogan, and Missing Pieces with ex-22-20's frontman Charly Coombes.


'The Pilot Lights EP', set for release in February 2007 via Big Scary Monsters Records, was recorded in part by David Kosten (producer for Air Traffic, Iain Archer, Bat For Lashes and many more) and in part by Guy Sigsworth (ex-member of Frou Frou (along with Imogen Heap) and producer for Björk, Madonna, Lamb and others).


Download mp3: We Have Your Head - Buy


Richard Walters Myspace



-------------








Yndi Halda, meaning enjoy eternal bliss (which just so happens to be the name of the bands forthcoming debut EP), hail from the most Southern, Eastern tip of the UK. More joyous than Explosions In The Sky, less vocal than Arcade Fire, it's the kind of music which could soundtrack a moden day love story as easily as it could a mid-century war.


The three track demo version of the forthcoming EP was voted number two (above such genre luminaries as Sigur Ros, Explosions In The Sky, Pelican et al) in the top 50 instrumental albums of 2005 by Decoymusic.com, a reward which anyone would struggle to dispute upon listening to the record. With one beatiful soundscape after another, Yndi create something bigger than an emotional rollercoaster, it's more like a full-on mountain assualt through thick blizzards and incredible sunshine.


'Enjoy Eternal Bliss' released in February 2007 through Big Scary Monsters Records (UK), Burnt Toast Vinyl (USA), Xtal Records (Japan) and Avant Garden (Taiwan)


Download mp3 Dash And Blast - Buy


Yndi Halda Myspace


Content courtesy of Kev at Big Scary Monsters Records

data.select.party

I've got in to a lot of new bands recently but it's been a while since I've had a full blown obsession with a band. A friend pointed me in the direction of data.select.party last week and from the moment I heard ‘She's An Eyefull On The Alley’ I was hooked. There are occasions when the worlds of indie-rock and dance-pop collide and something beautiful is born. This is one such occasion.


data.select.party myspace

gigtastic

I’ve been a busy boy of late. The past four days have involved three successful meetings, three daytime strippers, three gigs, three hundred miles of driving and one transsexual.

The whole surreal experience started on Thursday at Patrick Wolf’s gig in Bristol. The fact that I was at a gig on a boat soon seemed normal in comparison to the bizarre choice of support act. The novelty value of the boob-mustache combo soon wore off and despite some catchy electro beats and charming lyrics; the bafflingly poor standard of vocal ability became clear.

Patrick himself didn’t disappoint. Glinting eyes, cheeky grins and costume changes created a spectacle of showmanship. Despite a forgotten lyric and the complete abandonment of one song the gig was still spectacular, reflected with the crowds’ insistence on a double encore.



Above: Patrick Wolf - Tristan

Saturday and Sunday night saw trips to the Academy in Birmingham, the first to see Bloc Party. It would be harsh to say that they did anything wrong, but it was just very standard. Constant messages from the band asking fans to ease the crush at the front killed the atmosphere somewhat. I’m all for the prevention of broken ribs but “please move back” isn’t a wonderfully motivating interchange between songs.

The stars of the night for me were support act Metric. I have always liked these indie-electro-poppers so it was great to see them for free. The simplicity of the guitar rifts and synth chords make the songs catchy and the lyrics and melody separate Metric from similar bands. By the end of the set the crowd was moving and a few crowd surfers took to the air.

Below is the video for Metric – Dead Disco.



Every time I go to an emo gig I end up feeling more like an old man. Luckily all the mini-emo kids allow me to get a clear view of the band; in this case Brand New. Support came from Philadelphia based mewithoutyou. Singer Aaron Weiss’ at first seemed a little edgy but the performance grew, culminating with a plethora of percussion.

Brand New played a long set, but seem to have left behind some of their older material.



Tonight… Guillemots in Nottingham.

You, Me And Everyone We Know

This five piece band from Washington DC hail themselves as "the next somebody else". Their pop-rock sound has an undercurrent which you feel could just as easily stroll towards dance as it could towards punk. The danceable beats are reminiscent of Panic! at the Disco and the edginess of the vocals has led to comparisons with Say Anything.

The band are currently unsigned and have four free mp3s on their myspace page.

Band Myspace