Yeasayer - Ambling Alp.

“Stick up for yourself son, never mind what anybody else done”, sings lead singer Chris Keating on this delightful pseudo-ethnic avant pop track mixed with odd vocalizations (shifting from high-pitched Bee-Gees vocals to warmer harmonies). Still experimental, but less hippie-esque and far more playful and synthesized than previous songs I've heard from these Brooklyn based musicians.It might sound superfluous and over the top. But it's fun.And it works.But they're playing with fire though..Had it only been a tad more sweet and poppy could it easily reminded me of Mika.

FENECH-SOLER: The next hype?

Electro-pop,synth-pop,techno pop,electro-rock,whatever genre you prefer to pigeonhole these sequins-dressed boys into - "Fenech-soler" are definitely worth keeping an eye on.They debuted with the single ‘Cult of the Romance’ in 2008, and has since then rapidly continued with creating love-infected lyrics and heavy club-centric synth-beats.Combining 80s inspired synth with catchy electro is not an unknown phenomenon these days,but they've managed to turn the 80s sound into something more contemporary.

Here’s the official video for the single “Lies”, released on Moda Music on 2nd November.

One of those random reviews: Twilight Sad - “Seven years of letters”.

The Scottish indie rockers are known for producing sophisticated and rough fragile folk-rock, taint fully wrapped in layers of noise and depressive lyrics. Their dirge like darkness is still intelligibly present at their second single, taken from their album “Forget the night ahead”, released through FatCat on the 19th October.

Heavy guitar swirls are submarined by the lead singer, James Graham’s Glaswegian rusty accent and curling voice and the song narrates a melancholic tale about hidden, pressured love: “It's a sorry affair. We're on a hiding to nowhere”.
The depth of the lyrical content is swaying between well-turned phrases which create a tense and emotional atmosphere, to lines which hamper the vividness of it. The intense dynamic sounds cape is not as present as on previous tracks, but Graham delivers the song so heart-piercing that he gets away with it.

“The Twilight Sad” sound a bit like a darker and unpolished version of Newcastle quintet Maximo Park on this one. Or perhaps it’s just that Northern dusky edge that has me confused?

Oh Bloc Party what you do to me.

"We may take a year off, we may take three years off. We may never make a record again or we may head straight back in and do a record.", said lead singer Kele Okereke just after they confirmed that they're going on a hiatus a couple of months ago. So the future doesn't look too bright for the fertile foursome who recently finished a huge UK tour, which ended in Bournemouth.
Drummer Matt Tong has also announced that the band’s future is uncertain, and he don't know if he's going to return to music at all. It has, however been revealed that Okureke is set to work on a solo album which is good news for all us shattered Bloc Party fans out there.


Having produced danceable indie-anthems since 1999, they are one of the most popular indie bands in the UK. With dynamic and hauntingly beautiful lyrics including themes of frustration, anxiety, sex, drugs, love, depression,war,politics, they've managed to reach out to a wide audience of youngsters.

“I am trying to be heroic, in an age of modernity/But in my heart I am lukewarm, nothing really touches me.” "Song For Clay"(Disappear Here)’

"I was an ordinary man with ordinary desire/There must be accountability/Disparate and misinformed/Fear keeps us all in place." (Hunting for witches.)

Why can't you be more European/Bastard child of guilt and shame/Bury your head in the sand. (Helicopter.)

Experimenting with electronic sounds, layering vocals, drum beats, sharp guitars and post-punk, Bloc Party have never been a band that you could pigeon-hole into a specific category musically.

Late of the Pier - "Blueberry".

The Nottinghamshire four-piece have been my biggest musical obsession since they released their debut album last year which was a fanfare of fiery explosive 80s/Gary Numan-inspired synth-beats, accompanied with heavy guitar riffs and quirky lyrics and music videos. A fresh breathe of air, and a highly original addition to the indie scene. Album of 2008, without shadow of doubt! A bit gutted that I only made it to one of their gigs last year though,being so drunk, I can only remember brief glimpses of it.

I was randomly stumbling upon their newest single the other day, taken from their upcoming album, and its quite different from their other songs. The dizzying post nu-raveness is replaced by a more retro daydreamy intergalactic odyssey and The Beatles reference is inevitable. The song is good, but I just hope that they will keep their distinguished "old" sound, and not go through a bloody reformation like so many other quality bands do when they release their second albums.