Choir Of Young Believers

A Choir they might not be but I am a fervent believer that their voices are heaven sent.   Choir of Young Believers have some seriously catchy tunes that will lift up your spirits- haunting falsettos and melodies will certainly leave you with an angelic feeling at least.

I heard the tune Claustrophobia a while back and when trying to remember where I came across it- unsurprisingly from Eardrums on A Good Crop compilation in 2008- I also came across a post from mp3hugger back in 07 so his finely tuned years were ahead of the curve as always!

No videos for Claustrophobia but a good live acoustic version of the excellent tunes Riot and Sharpen Your Knife.

Riot and Sharpen Your Knife– Live version with simple acoustic versions

You can also download a new track Action/Reaction from RCRD LBL– while I think their older tunes are more atmospheric have a look at an intimate version of Action/Reaction which is just sublime.

Slightly better quality  at Soundvenue.

An Indiecater Christmas

What can I say- I am a Grinch this time of year with all the materialism flying around and the annoying Christmas tunes that are in every.single.bloody.shop. with some even have it blaring outside to boot!

So it takes something special to get me in the Christmas spirit this early in the season and there is no better way than with the tunes that Mr. Hugger has put together for An Indiecater Christmas.  After one listen to the compilation I can only describe the feeling in the words of Suess where ‘the Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day!’

There are really some special tunes on here and from some of my favourite artists that I have been listening to this year. Nina Hynes is just sublime, Venice Is Sinking spectacular and Jape & David Kitt electrifying!  Some of the tunes you can tell from the title that they are definitely an ‘alt’ version of Christmas…Christmas in Jail and Santa Got The Spins are absolutely hilarious! As ever with the Indiecaters the order of the tracks is spot on and really gives a great album experience.

So if you are tired of the the same Christmas music tripe they drag out year after year head over to Indiecater and download this gem- you can listen to all the tunes before you buy and for €6.50 it will put some Christmas cheer in your life…and probably cheaper than the dodgy mulled wine that is going around!

As I have done with the previous compilations, just a few thoughts on each of the tracks…

The Cloud Room – Melody, Like Snow What a start- great looping and beats.
Nina Hynes – Twinkle Oohhhh so nice- voice cold melt ice!
Kill Krinkle Club – Songs Of Noel Great instrumentally and good harmonies.
Bill Baird – Christmas In Jail Sonorous and fits the lyrics!
Idaho – Santa Claus Is Weird Slower with simple beats.
Venice Is Sinking – The Grey Line Great tune- strings and female harmonies with some of them jingly bells.
Normandy – Merry Christmas, Blogosphere! Lots of bells and high pitched voice.
The Very Most – This Year, Christmas Came November 4th More traditional with bells kicking it off- damn boppy though with the female dadadada- good vocals as well.
Remington Super 60 – Here Comes Christmas Boppy start with male harmonies.  California sunshine singing about snow!
Jape & David Kitt – I Will Cry This Christmas Bloody great electro- simple with a great voice-excellent ending.
The Specimen – Wish It Would Snow Mostly electric- some bells with good beats and catchy.
Nonstop Everything – There Is No Santa, Little Boy Instrumental and good vibe.
My Teenage Stride – Is It Christmastime Already? More traditional with driving sleigh bells and bouncy-deep sax nice.
Dora Flood – Coastal Winter Ok- good percussion.
Loxsly – Santa Got The Spins Absolutely hilarious lyrics- good use of jingle bell rock.
Track A Tiger – Once In The Wine Ok- good start to the the wind down.
The Winks – Action Figures Slow and subtle- with some building elements at the end of the tune and good way to end the compilation.

Indiecater Volume 3

Another great compilation from Mr. Hugger- up to Vol. 3 and each one as strong as the last! A good variety of groups from the US and Europe and thankfully for me this time I hadn’t listened to the Irish groups too much so no distractions of thinking of their other tunes. As always the play order that he has put them in is key- while each tune is from a different band the order certainly compliments their sound.

As I have done with all the compilations to date- just a few thoughts on each track…

Sa Sevol– The Little Ones-dreamy lyrics with dark ambient undertones and good instrumentation.

Ral Partha Vogelbacher– Birthday in Beijing– nice start with the eastern instruments and good building up with the voice and music.

Ian Love– The Only Night– nice simple beats and harmonies with a good driven sound.

Bakers At Dawn– Hopeful– good toe tapping beats and a nice deep voice- guitar reverb and strings you cant ask for more!

Cats On Fire– Higher Grounds– good boppy tune with some good female vocals.

Celestial– Fragile Heart– short but one of the better ones! Lush sound predominate female harmonies and good instrumentation.

The Dying Seconds– I’ll Make The Best Weapon– scuzzy dance beats with a great vibe!

Starfucker– German Love– good sampled start and good vocals.

Ravens and Chimes– General Lafayette! You Are Not Alone– great drums and vibe!

Angel Pier– Sprites– good voice and some nice beats.

So go and get it– at 4.50 its cheaper than a vodka and will last longer!

BTW- for those of you wondering why I equate the prices of things to drink- its not because I am an alcoholic but drink is pretty bloody dear in the pubs here and you could easily spend more than cost of the gig ticket if you have more than a few!

Michael Knight- Youth Is Wasted On The Young

Ahh never a truer expression- one that has been sticking in my mind these days with trying to make sure I have enough energy for all the gigs!

First heard Michael Knight on Indiecater Vol.1 from mp3hugger and with absolutely loving the closing number of Dumbshow I ran to Road Records to the get their last album (I’m Not Entirely Clear How I Ended Up Like This).  So when I heard that Mr. Hugger was going to re-release their first album, Youth Is Wasted On The Young, I was looking forward to hearing their earlier tunes and they do not disappoint!

Richie Murphy’s dramatic voice is excellent as before and I think this is slightly more harmonious than their follow up with the female backing playing a bigger role.  The playing order is important as well, while each track can stand on its own it seems more like a story when played in the intended order.

So a strong start with Foals and Waves To The Shore- great harmonies in both with the latter having some great beats to boot.  Crown Of Thorns starts off some of the quieter tracks and something different in each- whistling, piano, organ and some good male harmonies as well.   The title track Youth Is Wasted On The Young actually has a different singer (Patrick Freyne) and a more alt country feel.  The ending three are back to the strong start with tunes that have a good punch; Bright Eye has Richie back showing his range, Seasons has that extra bit of boppiness and I Did It Biffs Way has an excellent start with the scuzzy guitar and rounded off with the great vocals and drums.

So head over to mp3hugger now and BUY IT for the extremely reasonable 3.50…even a split in the pub cost’s that these days!

One final note…while looking at the sleeve notes that come with the download I noticed the very familiar name of Edel Coffey…I knew she had been in a band but I didn’t realise it was Michael Knight! You can see her in the YouTube of Leaving Town below…

Leaving Town

Indiecater- Sunbear

Finally getting around to the mail from mp3hugger– he has released an lp by the Irish band Sunbear over at his Indiecater site:

Sunbear only released 1 LP (and a number of EP’s) but it was a classic. The thing was not many people got to hear it in 1994, when it was originally released, as there were only 1,000 copies ever made. This despite being stalwarts on the seminal ‘No Disco’ programme. Now as part of our ongoing mission to release long deleted classics indiecater has made Sunbear available for download for a recessionary-proof price of €3.50 (no 1% or 2% levies!!!).

Haven’t had a chance to listen to the whole thing yet but the sound is good- wasn’t really in the Dublin music scene back in 94 so a great way for me to catch up on what was going on!  So go here and download away- cheaper yet again than a vodka with the publicans price increases!!

Indiecater Volume 2

Finally getting around to this- have been listening to the different tunes in the second compilation, Indiecater v2, from mp3hugger for the last few weeks but work has just been melting my head so not blogging much at all about new tunes.

Another great compilation but this time round it is of artists that have already released tracks- so I have heard some of them before and even been to a couple of the groups gigs but there were some surprises on there as well.  As with the last one the running order is nicely done- not as ecstatically happy as I was with the last one but I think that is down to knowing some of the tunes in the running order on the original cds and that was making me think of other songs at the same time.

So again just a few thoughts on each track…

Montag- Going Places– nice startsampling with a good beat and good voice

Ned Collete- The Country With A Smile– nice continuation with some similar beats and synth

The Spook Of The Thirteenth Lock- In Country Dark– great song and best from their album.  Excellent voice and nice pickup…I couldn’t get the moronic smile that the drummer had on his face during the gig though!

Mumblin’ Deaf Ro- What’s To Be Done With El Salvador– some toe tapping beats with a great voice and vibe.

AM Syndicate- To The Peasants Of The Emperor– great beats and background ambient darkness balanced by lightness of great voice, guitar and bell.  Soaring voice and great bit at middle where drums really kick in.

Eagle Seagull- I’m Sorry But I’m Beginning To Hate Your Face– great beat with a high regester voice and reminds me of somebody.  Great song and like the way it was constructed.

The Van Allen Belt- The Status Quo (A Line Dance)-first female voice which is stong and vibrant. Big sound with loads of voices.

The Very Most- Good Fight Fighting– great harmony and sun shiny vibe.  Mostly guy singing but also great female as well. Short but good.

Venice Is Sinking- Pulaski Heights– guitar reverb start then beats. Good atmospheric song.

The Ruby Suns- There Are Birds– electro darkness- female harmonies in reverb…mmmmm.

Altogether another great one and all for less than a price of a vodka in a pub so go and buy it now!

Indiecater- A Compilation By mp3hugger

Indiecater is an idea by the excellent music blogger mp3hugger…10 tracks from relatively unknown groups that he thinks deserve more attention. Mp3hugger is one blogger whose opinion I would trust when it comes to music- how many other music bloggers have had a song written about them? Not many I would imagine!

This is certainly one compilation that hugs you back- from the very outset you are wrapped in a warm embrace that stays with you long after the last notes have faded. In fact I have always thought that a good compilation is like sex and by god this one proves that point- the foreplay, the action and the sated yet yearning for more feeling at the end. God give me a cigarette now!

Well worth the €4.50…this will last longer with you than a pint and cheaper at that. So click here and get it now! Now- if we could only get all of these groups to play in Dublin!

Just some quick thoughts on the tunes themselves…

It’s Alright- Burning Codes– damn good falsettos

Astronaut- Slushco– great beats and vibe- quite complex actually but sounds sweet

Rockfield Symphony- Storkboy Choons– dance, great ambient feel and gets the body moving…not one to play in work!

Cockroaches- The E.L.F. – excellent vibe- is that a Yothi Yindi sample?

Packed the Car- Foreign Slippers– damn nice female vocals

You Remind Me of Me- Beaten Awake– sublime voices

Untitled- Call To Mind– dreamy and ambient

We’ve Been Waiting For You- Empty Rooms– shiny vibe, great drums and vocals

Share- Cymbals Eats Guitar– slow, bit of lo-fi snarl with the feedback

Dumbshow (Directors Cut)- Michael Knight– great way to end compilation- simple ahhhhs but such delightful instrumentation and woven harmonies…oh dear god a cello all the way through but at the end with violins….ahhhh indeed! Probably the most played by me- reminds me of Loney, Dear with build up of instruments and Efterklang feel overall. Have their full cd now!