Music: September Playlist

BANG! Videos and songs and bands and shit to listen to if you get a chance. Bits of dance, bits of rock, bits of blues, it's all there. One constant in the whole parade is that of quality. This month seems to be a good'un. Me hope you like.

1) VIOLENS - Acid Reign (from the album entitled 'Amoral')


A NYC band to be wary of this year, these boys. A five piece with a hint of The Smiths about them (or maybe just Marr), and a driving, bass heavy yet at times ethereal, weightless sound, they have been written about before, and will no doubt continue to fill the inches. This video sucks balls, as it is a mere photo of some men (presumably la band) in a tunnel, but the song is my favourite on the album, a steamroller of a song.

2) EVERYTHING EVERYTHING - MY KZ, YR BF (from the album entitled 'Man Alive')


Everything Everything, a four piece from various patches of the UK, have already received rounds of applause and industry handjobs for their debut album. And rightly so, it is a very very good'un. This is the first track from it, and a single from it. A very pop-friendly, disco-tinged number reminiscent of Friendly Fires and the like. The album itself swerves around a fair bit, and sounds in parts like Radiohead or Elbow (the vocals on 'Final Form' certainly have a touch of the Guy Garvey about them). But all of it is enjoyable and fresh and different. Listen if you like the angular sound of Friendly Fires, Foals, Post Way Years et al.

3) THE BLACK ANGELS - Sunday Afternoon (from the album entitled 'Phosphene Dream')


Alright! See, if Letterman's were a bar there'd be a guy in a Doors t-shirt down the front on acid and a girl making love to a Budweiser bottle somewhere near the amps. It's a hell of a groovy show, and I can't wait for them to come over from Austin, Texas and slide around England in their leather pants. Very classic-sounding, very very rock and roll, and very very very good. Find the album if and when you can, it doesn't disappoint.

4) JULIA STONE - This Love (from the album entitled 'The Memory Machine')


No videos have surfaced it seems for anything on Julia Stone's (of Angus and Julia Stone) new album. This is because it is not out yet. So get me! Anyway, I've heard it and it's very pretty indeed, very quiet, very becoming, very heartfelt. A must listen for any fans of Emiliana Torrini.

5) QUEST FOR FIRE - Set Out Alone (from the album entitled 'Lights From Paradise')


For those who like their music with a bit of balls, see Quest For Fire. New album Lights From Paradise will please fans of riffs, solos and drums hit harder than a crash dummies nutsack. Nuff said.

6) INTERPOL - Barricade (from the album entitled 'Interpol')


Continued decreases in quality songs, self-titled fourth albums, disappointing festival performances, wild horses, it seems nothing can hold me back from this god-forsaken band. Ever since 'Turn On The Bright Lights' I have been a slave to the doom and gloom that is Interpol. I'm still longing for a return to the blistering, hypnotic standards of old, and the new release isn't going to change that, but there's a few good numbers on there. This track, along with 'Lights' and 'Safe Without', at least pricks the ear.

7) CHROMEO - Don't Turn The Lights On (from the album entitled 'Business Casual')


Dancefloors everywhere beware, the middle-class white kids are coming a-grooving as everyone's favourite electro sex-pests release a new album of groovy, funky, sultry sounds. For me, personally, it's no Fancy Footwork, as the simplicity, the arrogance, the filth, the macho swagger of tracks like Needy Girl, Bonafide Lovin and Outta Sight have been replaced by something a little more predictable, a little safer, and therefore a little more forgettable. It hasn't yet charmed its way into my grundies, but then again, who can resist track names like "I'm Not Contagious" and "You Make It Rough".

8) JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE - Harlem River Blues (from the album entitled 'Harlem River Blues')


Steve Earle's son is a talented but troubled fella, having started taking drugs apparently at the age of 12. 12!!! When I was that old I was dressing up as a turtle, not hitting the crack. But then it's not for us to judge, all we can do is listen. And the sound he makes, in his fourth album, is a lovely bluesy country that reeks to high heavens of the beers and backwaters, not to mention the musical heritage, of his home town of Nashville.

9) THE STRANGE DEATH OF LIBERAL ENGLAND - Rising Sea (from the album entitled 'Drown Your Heart Again')


Did anyone say Arcade Fire? A team of musicians, soaring melodies, euphoric chanting, it's all there. But it sure ain't a bad knock-off, and the rest of their album has a similarly impressive quality. Not much else to say. I like his wafro. And he looks a bit like Andy Murray, no?

10) SHAPES AND SIZES - Tell Your Mum (from the album entitled 'Candle To Your Eyes')


A Canadian outfit whom I have never heard of before, but who have forged two albums on Sufjan Stevens' Asthmatic Kitty label prior to their new release. They're not everyone's cup of tea, a bit sparse and difficult, and may well end up on the iTunes heap, but for now i'm intrigued. I like her voice. And they don't look like they should be a band. More like a nursing home staff meeting, but then hey, who am I to judge?

11) BOBBY DARIN - Mack The Knife


Frank Sinatra just pips Darin, I think, as the king of swing, but Bobby was one hell of a showman, and I can't help but love the energy, the professionalism and the charm of performances like this. As he dances off into the sunset at the end I get a little emotional, as I think he died shortly after this recording. Michael Buble can eat my socks, there's nothing like the greats.