“Now” just sounds like an edgier pop recurrent you could have heard on alternative radio over the past 15 years yet it would still feel right at home after a new track by The Vaccines. With an LP in the works the Swedish 5 piece is something on the radar.
The Alcoves – NowThe Alcoves 
(Soundcloud)
Rating 8.1
Sissy & The Blisters have a considerable bit of buzz/hype around them in the UK (and some pretty influential fans… Steve Lamacq, Zane Lowe, Huw Stephens, just to name a few). “Let Her Go” is the sort of hooky neo-post-punk that NME and Q go bananas over. The Vaccines and even The Horrors could be considered analogs here. Namely, the pop sensibility of The Vaccines and the weight of The Horrors. “Let Her Go” is some spirited shit that’ll likely have you fist-pumping your way about the room within the first couple listens.
Sissy & The Blisters 
(Official) (Facebook)
Rating 8.1
I tried not listening to WU LYF before their show @ The Echo on Tues, 7/26. Resistance was futile. To quote Alice Walker’s The Color Purple: “we are the ones we have been waiting for.” WU LYF’s debut Go Tell Fire To The Mountain channels this ineffable feeling of a universal consciousness, an evolved spirituality for the disaffected youths of the early 2000’s. If you haven’t given WU LYF’s LP a spin by this point, do yourself a long overdue favor. Songs like “Heavy Pop” and “Concrete Gold” (both of which have been on the Superhighway for 18 months now) gain a greater meaning when heard within the album’s overarching concept: a prodigal son kills his father the king then is turned away when he attempts to assume the throne.
You get more bees with honey than with vinegar. WU LYF’s reticence to speak to the media has officially begun to overshadow their music. Their recent Radio 1 interview is quite hilarious, but I could see the casual listener turned off by their caustic demeanor and not give the tunes a proper spin. Transparency is the only answer to speculation. With a level of popularity comes great public expectation, which none of us can control, for such is the nature of human epistemology.
Crystal Antlers’ impassioned set tided fans as they streamed into the venue. Although they weren’t originally listed on the bill, a solid majority of attendees were inside by the third song from the Long Beach, CA natives. We initiated a spirited discussion RE: idea bands vs. song bands – it’s only fitting that an idea band like Crystal Antlers would open for fellow idea band WU LYF. Such distinctions, while often counter-intuitive, prove extremely helpful in this case. By this I mean WU LYF would never tour with The Vaccines or The Arctic Monkeys, for example, since they operate on opposite ends of the indie spectrum.
I was afraid that WU LYF might sound a little sloppy live, since they’ve only played about three dozen shows. I was quite surprised by their tightness and how true they stayed to the LP. This speaks volumes for their unique sound which, despite paying homage to SST, early Modest Mouse, The Pixies, Tom Waits etc., could never be classified as derivative.
I can’t say anything negative about their live performance. Absolutely phenomenal! Their music is imbued with this creative imperative i.e. they make music not because they want to but because they have to. Every measure is joyously cathartic. Those who know the lyrics sing along; everyone else stands transfixed, bobbing to the backbeat. If only they’d done a cover of “Flip Your Wig” or “Teeth Like God’s Shoeshine”, I would rate their performance a perfect 10, but maybe that’s asking too much. Let us hope that WU LYF tour more of America next time around, so they can share their talents with more disenfranchised youths, the listeners who need their music the most.
WU LYF could be the biggest band on the planet if they wanted, but they already are in the hearts of their most devoted followers. – Chris Gedos
WU LYF – Dirt (BBC Radio 1 Session 20/7/11)Wu Lyf : (Official) (Myspace) (Facebook)
July 26, 2011 @ Echo Set List:
LYF
Cave Song
Summas Bliss
Such A Sad Puppy Dog
Spitting Blood
Dirt
14 Crowns For Me And Your Friends
Concrete Gold
Heavy Pop
Scissors For Your Hair
We Bros
RATING: 9.9
Contributed by Christopher Gedos
Brother and Useless Keys played The Satellite Tuesday night to roughly 110 people. Airborne Toxic Event played here Monday night to a sold out crowd (check out August Brown’s thorough review here). I’m afraid many concert-goers were too burnt out for double duty. Moreover, Brother only has 3 (or 4) songs online at the moment, which I’m sure factored into the modest turnout. But those in attendance were generously rewarded for their curiosity with a playfully confident 45 minute performance.
I arrived about two songs into Useless Keys’ post-psychedelic performance. I didn’t even know it was them for another three songs. I had to ask the girls at the merch table. I mean it in the best possible way when I say that Useless Keys are all over the place sonically. It’s fun seeing a band this talented still trying to define their sound. Or maybe they don’t want to be defined. The volume is near-deafening as fog envelops the stage. Everybody digs the paranoiac ambiance. Their sound is schizophrenic: Replacements on roids, My Bloody Valentine at prom, Nirvana in LaLa land, early Pink Floyd meets Trout Mask Replica. Only through the marriage of cacophony will such eccentric euphony ever ferment.
Brother hasn’t basked in the “second coming” musical deification bestowed upon The Vaccines and WU LYF, possibly because they’re from Slough as opposed to London or Manchester. Their self-described style, grit-pop, isn’t quite as apt as WU LYF’s “heavy pop”. A more fitting branding for Brother is “hard-jangle”, in honor of XTC and The La’s.
As Brother prepares to take stage, I’m not quite sure what to expect. It’s a battle of cognition versus perception: I know the group to be a very promising foursome, but is my concert-going frequency having an adverse affect on the appreciation value? Am I becoming a part of the creative and jaded LA cross-section I’ve lamented in the past?
My doubt dissipates once Brother takes stage and launches into “Still Here”, which was featured in an April 9th post. The pitch-perfect harmonies have a tinge of adolescent abandon, as in, “We know we sound good and we still don’t give a fuck!” The singer mentions something about his guitar strap breaking and how “half a million people in England might care to know that right now.” (I’m paraphrasing.) I can forgive a healthy level of conceit for a band with this much talent. After all, Rock n’ Roll is a game designed for the young and the precocious, those who understand that each passing moment is the oldest we’ve ever been and the younger we’ll ever be. And Brother, with their charming blend of youthfulness and insouciance, perfectly captures that ineffable spirit.
The songs besides “Still Here”, “Darling Buds of May”, and “Time Machine” were catchy as well, but I’m still not sure if Brother will maintain the uniform quality of their initial public offerings. They could’ve played louder but I won’t nitpick. “Just download the album for free,” the singer quipped. I don’t know how happy Geffen will be if Brother dissuades CD purchases come July, but it doesn’t really matter if the lads from Slough deliver like they did at The Satellite on Tuesday. All interested parties will receive their spoils, creative and monetary, at year-end.
Brother – New Year’s Day
RATING: 8.88 – A score suggesting great auspiciousness, even infinity.
Contributed by Bruce Rave
Had an ace time hanging with the entire B3Sci team last week in Austin. We interviewed Chapel Club, The Vaccines, and Bombay Bicycle Club. The three will run weekly on my Moheak Radio Show with songs included, beginning with Chapel Club tomorrow (Friday). For this week’s fave, we have the LA band Prima Donna. Their “I Don’t Want You to Love Me” is on fire. It takes me back the the glam-punk best of bands like The New York Dolls. Here you go:
Prima Donna – I Don’t Want You to Love MeCatch Bruce on Moheak Radio Fridays 1-3pm PST
Prima Donna: (Myspace) (Official) (Facebook)
Rating: 8.3
Compiling a year end Best of Songs list is not exactly the easiest ask. There are SO MANY great songs. And ‘the line’ between making one’s list a true Best of list vs. a Favorite songs of the year list can be quite the thin one. Here’s our best go at it. Also, if you’ve yet to check out our Top 50 Albums of 2010 list then you can get familiar HERE. Happy Holidays, and thanks for reading! We’ll see y’all in 2011…
01. Adele – Rolling in the Deep (Buy It)
02. Kanye West -Power (Buy It)
03. Cee-Lo Green – Fuck You (Buy It)
04. Aloe Blacc – I Need a Dollar (Buy It)
05. Tinie Tempah – Pass Out (Buy It)
06. Alicia Keys – Unthinkable (I’m Ready) (Buy It)
07. The Black Keys – Tighten’ Up (Buy It)
08. Beach House – Norway (Buy It)
09. Janelle Monae – Tightrope (Feat. Big Boi) (Buy It)
10. James Blake – CMYK (Buy It)
11. Far East Movement – Like a G6 (Feat. The Cataracts & Dev) (Buy It)
12. Drake – Fireworks (Feat. Alicia Keys) (Buy It)
13. B.o.B. – Airplanes (Feat. Hayley Williams) (Buy It)
14. Arcade Fire – Ready to Start (Buy It)
15. M.I.A. – Born Free (Buy It)
16. Swedish House Mafia – One (Feat. Pharrell) (Buy It)
17. Jose James – Made for Love (Buy It)
18. Ski Beatz – Cream of the Planet (Feat. Mos Def) (Buy It)
19. The Fresh and Onlys – Waterfall (Buy It)
20. Rick Ross – Super High (Feat. Ne-Yo) (Buy It)
21. Cassius – I Love You So (Buy It)
22. Gil Scott-Heron – New York Is Killing Me (Buy It)
23. The National – Terrible Love (Buy It)
24. Deadmau5 – Right This Second (Buy It)
25. Phantogram – As Far As I Can See (Buy It)
26. Washed Out – You and I (Feat. Carolyn Polachek) (Buy It)
27. Deerhunter – Helicopter (Buy It)
28. Erykah Badu – Window Seat (Buy It)
29. Wiz Khalifa – Black & Yellow (Buy It)
30. Big Boi – Shutterbugg (Feat. Cutty) (Buy It)
31. Katy B – Katy On A Mission (Prod. by Benga) (Buy It)
32. Mount Kimbie – Field (Buy It)
33. LCD Soundsystem – Oh You (Christmas Blues) (Buy It)
34. Jesse Rose – You Know It (Original Mix) (Buy It)
35. Band of Horses – Laredo (Buy It)
36. Kelis – 4th of July (Fireworks) (Buy It)
37. Funeral Party – Just Because (Buy It)
38. The Soft Pack – More or Less (Buy It)
39. Jeremy Messersmith – Tatooine (Buy It)
40. Klaxons – Echoes (Buy It)
41. Chapel Club – O Maybe I (Buy It)
42. King Reign – Money (Feat. Saukrates and Kardinal Offishall) (FREE Download)
43. Grinderman- Worm Tamer (Buy It)
44. Mona – Listen To Your Love (Buy It)
45. The Sand Band – Set Me Free (Buy It)
46. The Vaccines – Blow It Up (Buy It)
47. Beady Eye – Bring the Light (Buy It)
48. Lykke Li – Get Some (Buy It)
49. Shad – Yaa I Get It (Buy It)
50. Professor Green – Just Be Good To Green (Feat. Lily Allen) (Buy It)
Honorable Mentions:
Corinne Bailey Rae – Are You Here
Fat Joe – Ha Ha (Feat. Young Jeezy)
Chris Turner – Liquid Love
Flying Lotus – And The World Laughs With You (Feat. Thom Yorke)
Lissie – Record Collector
Crookers – Cooler Couleur
Dale Earnhardt jr jr – Simple Girl
J. Cole – Premeditated Murder
Cee Lo Green – I Want You (Demo)
Small Black – Weird Machines
NERD – Hypnotize You
Eliza Doolittle – Skinny Genes
Usher – OMG (Feat. Will.i.am.)
First Aid Kit – Ghost Town
Foals – Spanish Sahara
Nicos Gun – Dirty Girl
Flying Lotus – And the World Laughs With You (Feat. Thom Yorke)
Sia – Clap Your Hands
Taio Cruz – Dynamite
Flight Facilities – Crave You (Feat. Giselle)
Ciara – Ride the Beat (Feat. Ludacris)
Tinchy Stryder – Game Over (Feat. Giggs, Professor Green, Tinie Tempah, Example, Devlin, Chipmunk)
Crystal Castles – Celestica
Gayngs – The Gaudy Side of Town
Big K.R.I.T. – Country Shit
Two Door Cinema Club – What You Know
Everest – Let Go
E-Train – Never Love You
Breton – The Well
Arcade Fire – Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
Badio – Kiss the Sky
Dylan LeBlanc – If Time Was for Wasting
Flux Pavilion – I Can’t Stop
Freddie Joachim – Transistors
Great Lake Swimmers – Gonna Make It Through This Year
Gorillaz – Empire Ants (Feat. Little Dragon)
Groove Armada – Paper Romance (Feat. Fenech-Soler)
Karen Elson – The Ghost Who Walks
Manic Street Preachers – I’m Leaving You For Solitude
Mark Ronson & The Business Int’l – Somebody to Love
PS I Love You – Facelove
Menomena – TAOS
Sleigh Bells – Kids
STS – Fuck A Hook (Prod. By Don Cannon)
